Premier League Preview: Chelsea Vs Manchester United

Premier League match time returns to Stamford Bridge, when Chelsea host Manchester United, in a first leg game on Tuesday, March 1, a match that was originally scheduled to be played on December 19, and got postponed owing to inclement weather.

Chelsea's match against Fulham was meant to be all about Torres, who replaced Drogba in the starting eleven as the prime striker for the Stamford Bridge squad. While preferring Torres to Drogba gave Chelsea greater control in midfield. Fulham were resolute as ever in defence, and Chelsea failed to convert the half-chances they had to show for all of their superior possession.

Chelsea

David Lutz used the game to showboat his considerable skills. The Brazilian had more creativity than the whole midfield combined, and his only flaw was a lunge on Dempsey in injury time that resulted in a penalty for Fulham that Dempsey himself took. And Cech made a brilliant save to prevent Lutz's solitary error from taking away from his great performance. The loss of two points has made Chelsea's title defence an impossible mirage.

In their game against Wigan in match week 28, United were off-colour, till Hernandez put them ahead, on 17 minutes. During the interim, Wigan created a few scoring chances, and the Old Trafford squad have Van der Sar to thank for not allowing Wigan to convert any of them.

Rooney was lucky that he didn't get sent off for what looked like a deliberate elbowing of James McCarthy, in the 10th minute. The iconic striker had a hand in 3 of the 4 goals, the third of which he scored. The first goal transpired after his pass to Nani (absolutely brilliant on the day) on the right flank was relayed to Hernandez who converted. Hernandez got a second goal on 74 minutes; Rooney made it 3-0 on 84 minutes, and three minutes later, Fabio completed the tally with United's fourth goal of the game. The result has put United 4 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table, and 15 points adrift of Chelsea, who are in 5th place..

Head to head, of the last league games between Chelsea and Manchester United, the Stamford Bridge squad have won 3, while United have won 2, with the remaining game drawn.

In their last 6 league games, Chelsea have registered 3 wins, 2 losses and a draw, while Manchester United have 5 of their last 6 matches, while losing the remaining one. Chelsea have won 8 of 12 home games this season, while losing and drawing 2 each. Manchester United have 4 an lost 1, while drawing the remaining 8 of 13 games on the road.

In their last Premier League match, Chelsea drew 0-0 away at Fulham, while Manchester United's last match, away at Wigan, ended 4-0 in their favour.

In the defending champions, Manchester United can expect tougher opponents than cellar team Wigan. But on current form, it would be a steep challenge for Chelsea to take away full three points from Tuesday's game.

Chelsea's starting eleven against Fulham comprised: Cech, Ivanovic, David Lutz, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Anelka, Torres and Malouda. Drogba and Kalou featured as substitutes.

Manchester United had the following players in their starting eleven against Wigan: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Nani, Hernandez and Rooney. Berbatov, Da Silva and Gibson were used as substitutes.

Premier League Preview: Chelsea Vs Manchester United

Manchester United FC is Every Football Player's Dream Club

Manchester United FC (Football Club) is one of the greatest football clubs in the world. An English Premier League football club, the home ground of MU is at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. Manchester United FC was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath and in 1892 the club joined the Football League. Manchester United has been playing in the top division of English football since 1938. The only years it didn't play was in the 1974-75 season.

Today, Manchester United FC is the reigning champions of the English Premier League since they won the 2008-09 Premier League Championship Trophy. It is considered as one of the most successful football clubs in the history of English football. Since 1986, the team has won 22 major honors under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson. In 1968, Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup after they defeated Benfica 4-1. They won the European Cup for the second time in 1999 followed by another win in 2008. They finished as the runner-up in 2009. Manchester United FC holds the joint record for maximum number of English league titles and FA cup wins with the former being 18 and the latter being 11.

Chelsea Football Club

This football team is also considered as one of the richest clubs in the world since the late 1990s. Currently, it is ranked as the most valuable as well as richest club in any sport across the world and has an overall estimated value worth £1.136 billion (.870 billion/EUR1.319 billion). Known to its fans as the "Red Devils", the current manager of Manchester United FC is Sir Alex Ferguson and captain is Gary Neville.

The Manchester United club was known as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878 and went almost bankrupt in 1902. It was saved from bankruptcy by J. H. Davies who was the managing director of Manchester Breweries. The club came to be officially named as Manchester United on 26 April 1902. Davies then changed the club's colors from white and navy to red, white and black, which is symbolic in modern football.

Since 1904, The Red Devils have been winning and losing in different seasons till Matt Busby was appointed in 1945 as the manager. Busby had innovative ideas and they paid rich dividends in the form of the club's performance. Manchester United finished second in the English league in 1947, 1948 and 1949 and won the FA Cup in 1948. The Red Devils went on to win the league again in 1956 and at that time the average age of the players was 22. The players scored as many as 103 goals through the championship. Known as the Busby Babes and led by Duncan Edwards, they went on to win the league again in 1956-57. The team also became the first team to compete in the European Cup. Manchester United on their way to the semi-final defeated Belgian Champions Anderlecht 10-0 and till this day, it stands as their biggest ever win in any competition.

The team was nearly wiped out by the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958 but what didn't get wiped out was the spirit of the Red Devils. Even today, the clock at Old Trafford shows the time of the crash but since then the team was created from scratch and they went on to win the FA cup in 1963 and the UEFA Champions League in 1968.

Manchester United FC is Every Football Player's Dream Club

Premier League Review - Chelsea Stun Manchester United

Chelsea blew the Premier League title race wide open again when they came from a goal behind to beat Manchester United, with ten games of the season remaining. Chelsea still have a mathematical chance of retaining the league title themselves, although they would have to win the majority of their remaining games while relying on other results to go in their favour.

United who started the game on the back of an impressive run of form, had amazingly not beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge since 2002. Chelsea however who have their worst run of form for many seasons were a huge fifteen points adrift of United before the start of the game.

Chelsea

The Blues, who left Didier Drogba on the bench in favour of a Fernando Torres and Nicolas Anelka strike partnership, started the game brightly, but the visitors soon found their stride, with crisp passing and fluent football.

Wayne Rooney, who controversially escaped a ban following his clash with Wigan's James McCarthy at the weekend, was jeered by the home fans every time he touched the ball. It was Rooney, however, that silenced the Chelsea fans after 29 minutes when he sent a long range shot into the Chelsea goal before celebrating in front of the Chelsea fans.

The Reds, who started with their first unchanged team for 165 games, continued to dominate play during the first half and prevented any real threat from the hosts, although a fine save from Edwin Van der Sar from a Frank Lampard free kick, six minutes before half time, should have set alarm bells ringing and reminded United of the nemesis that Chelsea have been over the last few years.

Chelsea's hero on the night proved to be David Luiz, who's arrival from Benfica in the January transfer window was somewhat overshadowed by the £50million signing of Fernando Torres. Luiz was impressive throughout the game and it was his unstoppable shot in the 54th minute that levelled the scores and threw the game wide open.

Both managers made positive, attacking substitutions, with Drogba replacing Anelka for the Blues and Dimitar Berbatov and Ryan Giggs coming on for United, which was a record 606th appearance for Giggs at the club where he began his professional career twenty years ago.

Neither side seemed happy with a draw and both teams went in search of a winning goal, the play and tackles were furious at times as both teams seemed to be playing for pride as much as the three points. After Chris Smalling made a clumsy challenge on Zhirkov in the 80th minute, Frank Lampard, whose impressive penalty record has wavered of late, made no mistake this time as he smashed home the spot kick to give Chelsea a 2-1 lead. Zhirkov nearly added a third goal for the Blues moments late but his shot was deflected onto the post.

To compound United's misery Vidic was sent off during injury time for a second book able offence, which means he will miss the important trip to Liverpool and the dismissal could leave United defensively weak.

The main beneficiaries of this game would appear to be Arsenal who are now just four points behind the leaders and have a game in hand, while Chelsea have consolidated their quest for a top four Premier League finish and entry into next years Champions League.

Premier League Review - Chelsea Stun Manchester United

English Premier League - Manchester United Beat Chelsea in Weekend's Big Match

Manchester United and Alex Ferguson sent a message to the rest of Premier League yesterday and, I would suspect in particular, to the Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez. Man Utd beat Chelsea easily 3 - 0 at Old Trafford on Sunday in the English Premier League's big game of the weekend. Ferguson, if he didn't already, now believes his club can catch Liverpool and retain the title by beating the other teams at the top of the table.

This was Man Utd's and Ferguson's, first win over the other potential title contender this season. Earlier in the week Ferguson had, somehow, unsettled Benitez, the Liverpool manager. So much so in fact, that the Spaniard launched into a pre-meditated diatribe against Ferguson in his Friday press conference about his alleged influence over officials. In reply to what the Liverpool manager's attack, Ferguson said after the game yesterday, "I think you have got to cut through the venom of it and hopefully he will reflect and understand that what he is saying was absolutely ridiculous. He is an angry man and I think he was disturbed for some reason or another -- that is all I've got to say about it."

Chelsea

Ferguson is certainly the master of the mind games and it would appear that he has certainly won one over on Benitez. The Premier League game between the two famous rivals at Old Trafford in March will be interesting to see how the two react with each other, never mind the fact the result of that game could go along way to deciding the final destination of the Championship.

Anyway, so far this season Utd have already drawn 1 - 1 with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in September, drawn 0-0 at Villa in November, and lost away to both Arsenal and Liverpool. However, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Arsenal all still have to visit Old Trafford and it looks like Man Utd are starting to time their push for the top with perfection again.

It was Man Utd's central defender Vidic who headed the opener just before half-time then strikers Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov scored one each as United. The win now means that Utd are only one point behind Chelsea.

United now have 41 points, which is still five behind Liverpool, but the current champions have two games in hand over their rivals. United can therefore move into first place should they beat Wigan and Bolton later this week.

However, back at Old Trafford it was a poor day at the office for Chelsea and their boss Phil Scolari who had previously said this match was absolutely crucial to his team's chances of regaining the championship they last won in 2006. Perhaps he put too much pressure on his players as Chelsea failed to get a single shot on target, even playing with three strikers for the final 10 minutes.

Scolari has seen his future come under increased speculation in the British press in recent weeks with some poor results. His team has stumbled against the backdrop of alleged unrest in the dressing room, as well as financial restrictions in the transfer market during the January window due to the current financial crisis.

Scolari said, "Now is the time for me and my players to think about our future: have we lost everything or are we men and do we improve? It's only this way or the second way is death.

"We know, all the fans know and the press knows if we play like the second half we won't arrive." His English still isn't too good but you can certainly understand what he means.

Chelsea have only won one of it's last five Premier League games, which is hardly championship form. Chelsea's next game is in just three days when they visit Southend in an FA Cup 3rd round reply. Should Chelsea lose that game, the alarm bells will certainly be ringing in south west London!

There was also a very interested spectator at Old Trafford yesterday. Jose Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager, now the coach at Inter Milan was sat in the stands. Inter of course are due to play Man Utd next month in the last 16 of this season's UEFA Champions League. He must have been glad he wasn't still in charge of Chelsea however, Man Utd's performance will certainly have given him something to think about ahead of his return with Inter.

English Premier League - Manchester United Beat Chelsea in Weekend's Big Match

Ticketing at Manchester United

Old Trafford Ticketing Problems

It is well known that it is difficult to get tickets to watch Manchester United, a problem which just seems to be increasing season on season. Demand outstrips supply on every major game with the possibility of buying tickets, for some fans, left to minor unfancied games in competition such as the League Cup when United are likely to field a weakened team.

Chelsea FootballClub

The Premier League 2010/11 season kicks off on Saturday 14th August with Manchester United commencing on Monday 16th August at home to Newcastle United. It promises to be a competitive season with United facing tough competition from reigning champions Chelsea, a resurgent Manchester City as well as Arsenal and perhaps Liverpool, this all contrives to ensuring that the Newcastle game, as well as most if not all over Premier League games will be over subscribed for ticket requests and many fans will again miss out.

It is difficult to foresee events that may change this problem in a hurry. This time last year United lost two major assets in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, yet again last season proved to be one of United's most popular with the fans with their average attendance well in excess of 70,000 fans through the season. When this is considered in context with the anti Glazer (Manchester United's owners) "Green and Gold until we are sold" campaign where many fans allegedly refused to watch their team and gave up the rights to their season tickets and there quickly appears to be no end to the ticketing issues.

A main reason for the problem is their success, obviously a nice reason to create a problem, but with every passing season bringing more trophies to Old Trafford, so their fan base increases, not just around Old Trafford but worldwide as witnessed by their pre season tours of Asia.

Old Trafford has a capacity of 76,212 which is the largest club ground in Britain (only the national stadium, Wembley has a larger capacity). This large stadium is as a result of much reconstruction work. In the early 1990's the Old Trafford capacity was at a low of 44,000 following the removal of all terracing, including the Stretford End. In readiness for Euro 1996, with The Manchester ground lined up to host five matches, the North End was demolished and replaced with an three tier stand that took the attendance up to 55,000. This exact style of stand was built on the East Stand and opened in January 2000 and on the West Stand shortly after which took the ground to it's current standing. There are no current plans to develop the ground further so it looks unlikely that a new breed of fans will have access to tickets. It is believed that the cost of constructions work at the ground as well as the clubs large leveraged debts means that no plans are in place for the foreseeable future.

Manchester United have a large number of season ticket holders which guarantees those fans see every game but as a result decreases the number of tickets available to other fans, add to this the increased number of high value corporate seats in the ground and it is clear to see just why there are such ticketing problems. These problems are unlikely to go away while Champions League and Premiership titles are regularly brought to Old Trafford.

Ticketing at Manchester United

Who Are Manchester United?

Manchester United are an English professional football club based in Old Trafford Manchester. Man United play in the English premier league which is arguably the best league in the world. Manchester United started off as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878 and then changed to their new name Manchester United in 1902. The club relocated to old Trafford in 1910.

United were the first English football team to win the European cup in 1968, which was an amazing achievement since the club lost many of their players 8 years previous to the event in the Munic air disaster. The club has gone on to win the European Cup a further twice notably the most famous was during the 1998-1999 season where United were losing 1-0 with 3 minutes to go and they scored two goals and won. That season the club won the famous treble which consisted of the FA Cup, Premier League and European Cup. This feat has never been achieved since by another English club.

Chelsea Football Club

Manchester United is the joint top most successful football team in the English premier league. Their also the richest and the club is worth around £1.2 billion which makes it the most valuable football club in the world.

Manchester United are owned by the Glazer family who took over the club by paying more than £800 million for them since 2003. The Glazer family have racked up a mass debt against the club which gathers millions and millions of interest each year, because of this the fans of the club started a campaign to try and return ownership to the supporters with a billion pound takeover bid.

Who Are Manchester United?

Premier League Review - Manchester United Storm To The Top

Manchester United stormed to the top of the Premier League as they scored seven goals against a hapless Blackburn Rovers side at Old Trafford. United who were second to Chelsea only by goal difference were ahead after only 72 seconds of the game and 3-0 in front by half time. Dimitar Berbatov scored five goals, as he equalised the Premiership record for the total goals scored in one match. Blackburn scored a late consolation goal, as the 7-1 victory now sees United lead the Premier league by two points, and having significantly increased their goal difference. United are now unbeaten in 15 league games this season, their best league start since 1985.

Chelsea were again disappointing as they could only manage a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United in Saturdays evening game. The Blues have now dropped 11 points out of a possible 15 after only winning one of their last five Premier League games. Chelsea's Alex awful back pass gifted Andy Carroll an early Christmas present as he put Newcastle 1-0 in front after only five minutes, Salomon Kalou scored a deflected equaliser before half time. Chelsea enjoyed a better second half, but the goals that were flowing earlier in the season now seem to have deserted them.

Chelsea FootballClub

Arsenal secured a 4-2 victory over Aston Villa despite a spirited fight back from the hosts. After conceding a two goal lead the previous week against Spurs, which ended in a 3-2 home defeat. Arsenal looked impressive, but must certainly tighten up their defence if they are to pose a serious challenge for the league title this season.

Tottenham staged another amazing come back after trailing at home to Liverpool. Aaron Lennon scored two minutes into injury time as they beat the Reds 2-1, after Martin Skrtel had first scored for his own team and then scored an own goal to level the score. Jermain Defoe also missed a penalty for Tottenham who are now in 6th place. It is now the fifth time this season Spurs have trailed in a game and fought back to win.

Manchester City dropped more points as an injury-time goal from Matthew Etherington ensured a point for Stoke in a very closely contested game, City remain in 4th place, five points adrift of leaders Manchester United.

In the other games, West Ham secured three much needed points with a 3-1 victory over Wigan, which eases the pressure on under-fire manager Avram Grant, West Ham remain bottom of the league, however, as Wolves secured a 3-2 victory against Sunderland.

Everton are left just two points above the drop zone, after a 1-4 home mauling by West Bromwich Albion, Everton now face Chelsea in an away game next week.

December now looks to be a pivotal month in the Premier League as United, Arsenal and Chelsea all play each other and the results could decide who are the front runners for the League title as the Premiership race enters the New Year.

Premier League Review - Manchester United Storm To The Top

Manchester United Football Club Facts

History:

Manchester United Football Club is an English football club which plays at Old Trafford located in Greater Manchester. They currently play in the top division in football being the Premier League. The club was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath. They joined the Football League in 1892 and they have played in the top division of English football since 1938. The average attendance at the club has been higher than any other team in English football. The club is one of the most successful in the history of English football and has won over 20 major honours since Sir Alex Ferguson became manager. Since the 1990's United have been one of the richest clubs in the world with the highest revenue of any football club.

Chelsea FootballClub

Club Crest:

The United club crest has been changed on a few occasions, but the main form remains similar. The badge has been designed around the crest of the city of Manchester. The red devil on the clubs badge is part of the design due to the club's nickname The Red Devils, which was taken on in the early 1960's.

Stadium:

United's magnificent stadium 'The Theatre of Dreams' was bought in 1909 for around £60,000 with a total construction cost of £90,000. The capacity of this stadium in total is 76,212 fans all seated.

Sponsorship:

The sponsors who are currently with Manchester United are AIG who are the main sponsors of Man United, and as part of the sponsorship deal their logo is displayed on the front of the club's shirts and is also on other merchandise. The AIG deal was announced by Manchester United in 2006 and is worth a British record £56.5 million.

Owner and Chairmen:

The owner of this amazing football club is Malcolm Glazer who is there to make sure the club runs smoothly and doesn't go bankrupt. Also along with Malcolm Glazer are the co-chairmen being Joel and Avram Glazer. Together they run a successful business in keeping Manchester United in the top financial condition so the team is able to win important matches and please fans.

Manchester United Football Club Facts

Old Trafford - Manchester United's Theatre of Dreams

Old Trafford Football Ground is located at - Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford, Manchester. Sir Matt Busby Way was created in 1993, and was formerly known as Warwick Road North.

The ground's nickname is the Theatre Of Dreams.

Chelsea FootballClub

Old Trafford has been Manchester United's home since 1910, with the exception of an eight-year period from 1941 to 1949, when it was bombed in the second world war. During that period United played their 'home' games at the ground of their rivals, Manchester City - at a financial cost of course. They had to pay City for the privilege consisting of a flat fee, and a gate percentage.

Old Trafford's current capacity is over 76,000. It's hoped that in time it will expand even further to 90,000 with greater capacity in the South Stand.

The ground has frequently hosted FA Cup semi-final matches as a neutral venue and several England international fixtures while the new Wembley Stadium was under construction. Before Wembley Stadium was built in 1923 the FA Cup Finals were played around the country, with Old Trafford hosting several of these.

Manchester United were formerly called Newton Heath, but it was decided in 1909 to build a new stadium. Designed by Scottish architect Archibald Leitch, the ground featured seating in the south stand under cover, while the remaining three stands were uncovered terraces.

In 1965 the old roof pillars were replaced with modern-style cantilevering on top of the roof, allowing all spectators a completely unobstructed view. This was an important step, as the World Cup was to be staged in the UK in the following year, 1966. Old Trafford was one of the venues used for the tournament.

By the 1980's the capacity had dropped to around 60,000 due to all the improvements in the ground. The capacity dropped still further in 1990, when the Taylor Report recommended, for safety reasons, and with the Government's agreement, that all stadia be converted to all-seaters.

Old Trafford's most recent expansion, which took place between July 2005 and May 2006, saw an increase of around 8,000 seats with the addition of second tiers to both the north-west and north-east sections of the ground.

Further redevelopments saw United buy up additional land round about.

The Old Trafford pitch is now surrounded by four covered all-seater stands, officially known as the North, East, South and West Stands. The West End is the 'Stretford End' where the diehard, most vocal, United fans sit.

On 29 May 2008, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Manchester United's first European Cup title, a statue of the club's old stars of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, entitled "The United Trinity", was unveiled across Sir Matt Busby Way from the East Stand.

The ground continues to break attendance records. The newer Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC, has a lower capacity, just over 60,000. Only one football ground has a higher capacity than the Theatre of Dreams, and that's at the new Wembley Stadium in London.

Manchester United supporters have an insatiable appetite for watching their team play. It seems that however big the ground gets, the seats will almost always be filled. That's what success on the pitch does for this wonderful game, and this glorious team that is Manchester United.

Old Trafford - Manchester United's Theatre of Dreams

Why Rooney May Never Wear the Manchester United Football Shirt Again

The recent media storm surrounding Wayne Rooney and his lack of desire to continue to pull on a Manchester United Shirt have brought renewed focus on to the Club and brings back memories of other players in the recent past who have failed to appreciate that the club and its global brand are much greater than any individual player, no matter how gifted he may be. Sir Alex Ferguson has no doubt was to who should win when it comes to Club v Player and I am sure this can be testified to by Roy Keane, David Beckham, Jaap Stam and Ruud van Nistelrooy who have all left the club after spats with Sir Alex and they never pulled on a Man Utd shirt again. No one other than the player and the manager can know what the real reason behind the current news stories but there is no doubt that the real reason will only be revealed once a successful deal is concluded to sell the player.

The current reason for the rift is reported to be Manchester United are no longer capable of attracting the top players that Rooney wishes to play alongside. There is no doubt that as the once wealthy club is now saddled with the Glazer debt they will find it hard to spend the kind of money needed to attract the very top names but there is no doubt that they have many young players coming through who will become great players of the future as Rooney did himself and maybe by staying at the club and helping them to develop as a team by offering support & mentoring would help Rooney achieve the success he says he continues to strive for. If he was to return to top form and allow a team to be built around him he may find that he is able to achieve real greatness by remaining in the red Manchester United Shirt especially if Sir Alex remains in charge for a few more years. There is no doubt that when a player loses the desire to play for a club that he will find it increasingly difficult to perform at the level of ability he is capable of and in the case in point this has arguably been so for some months now as the football media have been quick to point out. If we consider the recent newspaper reports on Wayne Rooney's private life alongside the reports from the weekend football matches it is often the case that great skill on the football field does not go hand in hand with a settled private life as many sporting stars have proved in the past.

Chelsea Football Club

I am sure that this will be brought to a conclusion sooner rather than later and it will be interesting to see how much playing time Rooney is given between now and January next year, at which time he is likely to move on to another club, but there is little doubt that he has many more years of great football left to play, but no longer at Old Trafford unless he is in opposition to his old club.

Why Rooney May Never Wear the Manchester United Football Shirt Again

Manchester United Under Malcolm Glazer

Manchester United is a term which is known to football fans all over the world. It is a football club, an English football club to be precise. It is based on Old Tafford, United Kingdom. They are also known as the "Red Devils" of England. It is one of the most famous and popular football club with more than 300 million supporters all over the world. 300 million can be roughly estimated as 5% of the total population! They are the most successful and influential club and ever since the 1990s they are rumored to be the richest clubs in existence. The club had a humble beginning during the initial stages and was even closed down on number of occasions due to mounting debts.

Being initially called the Newton Health Y&R, it was said to be sponsored by a health club. Five European trophies have been credited to them ever since the club came into existence. This included one international cup, one European super cup, two European champion's cup, one cup winner cup. They were bestowed with 12 domestic cups and 16 premier league cups too. They were also relevant in finding and establishing Europe's G-14 football club. Malcolm Glazer who was an American businessman had invested on Manchester United in 2005. He had paid a staggering .47 billion just for a 28.7% share on the team. It was after a year long battle in the courts that he could ultimately get his hands on the team.

Chelsea FootballClub

He had faced difficulties in claiming the club, due to the facts the takeover had made the club poorer by 0 million. Also he being a businessman, fans did not like the idea of a business man holding the reins of one of the most successful football clubs of the world. They had hoped for someone who had adequate knowledge about the sport to invest on the club. Escalating prices of the tickets also angered the fans as the club often received hefty sums from advertisements and sponsorship dealings. A vast majority of the fans even went to the extent of not renewing their season tickets for the forth coming matches of the Manchester United. Songs disrespecting Glazer and his sons can still be heard on many matches played by Manchester United.

Fans worldwide have been largely discontent by the takeover of the club by Malcolm Glazer. He had played significantly no role in the upcoming of the football club. His children were the ones who enjoyed director posts of the club for sometime. Despite these shortcomings, the club has surged forward under his guidance. He had spent quite large sums of money on the club and even more in roping the world's best football players into the club. The club had won two major cups in 2008 itself, the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League. It is to be noted that the Glazer group does not interfere with the daily business dealings of Manchester united and have left such activities to David Gill, the chief executive of Manchester united. Steep increase in the prices of the tickets had prompted many faithful followers to stay away from the club matches.

Manchester United Under Malcolm Glazer

EPL Team Profile - Manchester United

The club's formal name is Manchester United Football Club, or Manchester United FC.

They are also referred to, popularly, as the Red Devils. Founded in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR FC, the squad train at their home venue of Old Trafford, with its capacity of nearly 76,000. Owned by the Glazier family, the squad have Joel and Avram Glazer as co-chairmen, and Sir Alex Fergusson as manager.

Manchester United have won the most league titles, 18, a record they share with Liverpool. However, unlike Liverpool, who haven't won a single Premier League, the Red Devils have won in 11 of the 17 Premiership seasons, so far.

In the ongoing season, United have won two of three matches played and are currently third on the League table behind Chelsea and Arsenal.

Early Season Preview:

Manchester United would want to win the Premiership this season, for more than one reason. Apart from the obvious need to establish themselves as the best team in the fray, the squad know that this could be Sir Alex Fergusson's last year, at the helm. And that the Premier League title could be the perfect parting gift.

In fact, this is Fergie's 25th year, and even after a quarter century in charge, his motivation is intact. The Community shield, the traditional curtain raiser to the season, saw United lifting the trophy, by beating Premier League defending champions, Chelsea. Was that a teaser trailer of bigger things to come?

This is the Red Devils' current line-up: Van der Sar, Vidic, O'Shea, Evra, Jonathan Evans, Scholes, Nani, Giggs, Fletcher, Rooney, Berbatov, Kuszczak, Smalling, Owen, Hernandez, Carrick, Valencia and Rafael Da Silva.

Wayne Rooney has returned to the League after a forgettable World Cup, and he will want to put those memories behind him, the best way he knows -- by scoring goals. Rooney's form, as ever, will determine how the Old Trafford outfit shape up in their Premiership campaign.

Sir Alex has had the legendary knack of spotting little known players who have gone on to do brilliantly in top flight football. Javier Hernandez, signed this summer, belongs to this breed. Hernandez did well in South Africa, and has looked good in his short tenure with the Red Devils. Apart from Javier, Fulham's defender Chris Smalling is another summer signing of promise. In departures from Old Trafford, United have sold Ben Foster.

The Premiership, in recent years, has become a two-horse race, between Chelsea and Manchester United. This year, I expect it to be a three-pronged affair, with Arsenal providing the third side to the triangular contest. From the evidence of the matches played so far, I would back the Red Devils to mount a serious challenge for the title.

Manchester United Beat Chelsea 3-1 in Community Shield Thriller

Manchester United got the better of Premier League Champions Chelsea by 3- 1 in a thriller Community Shield encounter at Wembley, on Sunday.

This is the traditional curtain raiser at the start of the season.

This was Manchester United's first win after Carlos Ancelotti took charge of the Blues.

Chelsea under Ancellotti in the last season won both the Premier League and the FA Cup, and beat United both at home and away. They also won the Community Shield.

Ageless Paul Scholes was the hero on the day for Manchester United; he was brilliant in midfield with incisive passes that kept Chelsea on the run, for the most part.

The 84,000 odd spectators who witnessed the match at Wembley booed the England players who had returned from their miserable World Cup. That did not deter Wayne Rooney from executing a brilliant low pass to Valencia to open the United scoring.

The first goal came in the 41st minute of the first half when Rooney running down the right found an unmarked Ecuadorian Valencia with a stunning first-time ball and Valencia found it a piece of cake to put the ball past Hilario, in the Chelsea goal.

Javier Hernandez came on as a second half substitute and got a lucky goal in his debut match.

All in all, Javier Fernandez had a great debut for Manchester United. The diminutive Mexican combined brilliantly with Dimitar Berbatov who fired in passes from the right wing.

The match opened on a lively note with both teams enjoying chances of scoring.

A half-hearted lob that Valencia attempted was a wasted opportunity as was a wide volley by Scholes within 16 yards of the goal with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Nicolas Anelka leading a three pronged attack with Kalou and Florent Malouda counter attacked for Chelsea.

Manchester United goalkeeper, Van der Sar, who was brilliant on the afternoon, committed a rare blunder, as he did not quite manage to hold on to the ball after a long range shot from Anelka, but Kalou was caught at a tight angle and could not capitalise on the rebound.

Branislav Ivanovic would have scored with a header but for a brilliant palming of the ball by Van der Sar.

After a frenetic start, the two teams settled down to a more sedate pace, a period that Scholes dominated with a series of brilliant passes.

He chipped the ball deftly for Rooney to do the rest but the England striker failed to score from the acute angle he had to contend with.

Chelsea's left back Ashley Cole was also caught out of position, time and again by incisive crosses from Scholes.

It was one of those crosses that Rooney transmitted to Valencia to put United ahead with four minutes to go to half-time.

Chelsea had a successful outing at Wembley when they were last here in May, defeating Portsmouth to win the FA Cup.

After the break they came out firing, with long distance shts at goal by Michael Essien, back from injury, and Malouda. Kalou had a shot stopped by Van der Sar.

Coming in as a second half substitute, Hernandez dazzled with spins and flicks. The mercurial Mexican also displayed his ability to create space.

In the 76th minute, Javier scored his first goal in English football, and it was a stroke of luck. John O'Shea's pass down the United right found Luis valencia racing in to take advantage of an out of position Ashley Cole and his pass found Hernandez at the far post. Hernandez fell over even as ghe kicked the ball into his own face and to his relief the ball rolled into the net.

Seven minutes later Chelsea reduced the margin. Edwin van der Sar in the Man U goal parried away a 20-yarder from Daniel Sturridge and Salomon Kalou slid in the rebound.

An injury time goal made it a decisive 3-1 for Man U, with Berbatov grabbing hold of a Nani pass to put it over the Chelsea goalkeeper.

Manchester United Facts and Figures

Manchester United Football Club were formed in 1878 and were originally known as Newton Heath Football Club, before becoming MUFC on the 26th April 1902. Since 1902 Manchester United have won a wealth of titles and trophies. They have won the English league title 18 times, 7 of these being the old English division 1 title and 11 being the Premier League most recently for the 2008/09 season.

Man Utd have won the European Cup/Champions League 3 times and were the first English team to win the competition when they beat Benfica in 1958, they went on to win it again in 1999 and again in 2008 beating fellow English team Chelsea on penalties in Moscow.

The FA Cup is the world's oldest cup competition and Manchester United have won it 11 times, which is more than any other team, they last won the cup in 2004. Other honours include 3 League Cup Titles, 17 Community/Charity Shield's, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup and 1 Fifa World Club Cup.

Ryan Giggs has played more games for Manchester United than any other player and has played over 800 games for the club since making his debut in 1991. He is the only player to have scored in every season of the Premier League, and kept up the record for the 2008/09 Premier League season by scoring against West Ham United at Upton Park.

Denis Law scored the most goals in a season for Manchester United in a season when he scored 46 goals for the club in all competitions during the 1963/64 season, Dennis Violett scored the most league goals in a season when he netted 32 times during the 1959/60 campaign and more recently Cristiano Ronaldo scored the most goals in a 38 game league season during the 2007/08 Premier League winning campaign.

Sir Bobby Charlton has scored the most goals for Manchester United netting 249 times in his 758 appearances for Utd. The clubs second top striker is Denis Law who scored 237 times in his 404 appearances for the club.

United have always signed quality players in the transfer market as well as rearing their own players through their famous youth academies. The clubs record transfer fee is for Dimitar Berbatov who they signed for £31,000,000 from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 before that the record signing was Rio Ferdinand who signed for the club from Leeds United in 2002.

United record win was 10-0 when they defeated Anderlecht in the European Cup in 1956 and the clubs record defeat is 7-0 and they have lost by that amount three times, most recently in 1931 to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Manchester United Football Club - Loved Across The World

Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, sited at the Old Trafford stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and probably the most admired football club in the world, with over fifty million supporters worldwide. Manchester United Football Club is a world-famous English football club, with a capacity of over 76,000 and the highest average crowd in the league. Manchester United Football Club is perhaps the single thing for which the city of Manchester is most famed. The heritage of Manchester United football club is wonderful and most supporters have a real empathy to the club. Manchester has a tradition of excellence in sport. Manchester United Football Club is less than 2 from the University, first class cricket can be seen at Old Trafford, and Salford has one of the best Rugby League teams in the country, the renowned Salford Reds.

Football

Since the late 1990s, the club has been one of the richest in the world, and until recently had the top revenue of any football club for several years running. Nearly overnight, English football re-invented itself as a sensational sport with enormous commercial appeal. The enormous power and reach of television is turning football into one of the world's most lucrative sports. The club is one of the most successful clubs in England, having won the FA Premier League/Football League fifteen times, FA Cup 11 times and the European Cup/UEFA Champions League twice.

Cup

They also became the first English teams to participate in the European Cup, at the request of the FA, who had denied Chelsea the same chance the previous season, and got as far as the semi-final, only to be knocked out by Real Madrid. Tragedy hit the following season, when the airplane transporting the team back from a European Cup match crashed on take-off at a refuelling stop in Munich, Germany. The plane skidded off the end of the runway, through a fence and into an empty home. Despite the accident, they reached the FA Cup final again, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. Manchester United have won silverware on a frequent basis throughout their proud and thriving history and on the domestic front have won the both the old First Division Championship and the Premier League, the old Second Division, and the FA Cup and League Cup. By the time Matt Busby left in 69 United had won five First Division titles, 2 FA Cup Finals and of course became the first English team to win the European Cup in 68.

Fans

When Manchester United went to Thailand in 1997, 1000s of United fans went to the national stadium in Bangkok to see their heroes for real; but the closest most of The Clubs Asian supporters got to seeing their team is on national TV, where the whole English Premiership is promoted almost daily.

Up to 67,500 fans often pack into Old Trafford to see Manchester United play football. Like mentioned before, the biggest group of fans can be found in Asia. This has enabled Manchester United to make an interactive, on-line football society that will become the ultimate match and club experience for all its fans, on match days, during the build up, and then the after-match analysis. Maintaining their position could not have been done without the fans worldwide that have turned into United-consumers in the meantime. Of course, when in Manchester, Manchester United football club is one of the first things that jumps to mind for nearly everyone, so a visit to their stadium at Old Trafford is a frequent pilgrimage for fans.

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Manchester United Football Club Fans Are The Sexiest Football Fans

Manchester United supporters are England's Sexiest Football Fans, according to new research. Female followers of Fergie's boys, who boast Corrie star Kym Ryder and telly presenter Zoe Ball among their number, were voted the country's best looking by 1,500 male fans.

Second place in the poll were Chelsea fans, who include Sienna Miller, Danni Minogue and Isla Fisher - followed by the attractive followers of Liverpool.

Arsenal may be riding high at the top of the Premiership, but they could only manage fourth place, despite having singer Rachel Stevens and ex-Page 3 model Jo Guest as supporters.

The survey found over half of guys (53 per cent) spend time checking out how fit the girls at football matches are and two thirds of blokes reckon there's something sexy about girls in footie shirts.

Carl Christensen, MD of www.thepeoplesclub.com, which commissioned the poll, said: "Football is changing. You see more and more girls at games these days. It's like a fashion parade at times at Stamford Bridge, with some of the totty treating the stadium concourse like a catwalk."

"The sexy style of football is having an influence on the make up of fans attending the games too. I believe that Manchester United's free flowing football and Manchester City's cavalier spirit is rubbing off on the female fans."

Sexy female fans of struggling Newcastle United finished off the top five. Tottenham came sixth in the poll while Derby were at number seven. Eighth place went to West Ham United. Rampant romeo Sven Goran Eriksson's Manchester City were voted in at number nine followed by Aston Villa at ten.

The survey also named Swansea City supporter Catherine Zeta Jones as the sexiest celebrity football fan, beating second placed TV presenter Cat Deeley, a West Bromwich Albion fan. Arsenal fan Rachel Stevens came third while actress and Everton supporter Jennifer Ellison is at four. Finishing off the top five is Titanic actress and Reading follower, Kate Winslet.

At the other end of the scale Crystal Palace supporter Jo Brand was named the ugliest celebrity supporter followed by Norwich City director, Delia Smith.

Carl, added: "Everyone would agree there is something about girls in footy shirts which is downright sexy - it is the beautiful game after all."

England's Sexiest Football Fans

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
5. Newcastle
6. Tottenham
7. Derby
8. West Ham
9. Man City
10. Aston Villa
11. Cardiff
12. Middlesbrough
13. Sunderland
14. Charlton
15. Everton
16. Blackpool
17. Birmingham
18. Coventry
19. Southampton
20. Leeds

Sexiest Celebrity Football Fans

1. Catherine Zeta Jones (Swansea City)
2. Cat Deeley (West Brom)
3. Rachel Stevens (Arsenal)
4. Jennifer Ellison (Everton)
5. Kate Winslet (Reading)
6. Kirsty Gallager (Liverpool)
7. Emma Bunton (Tottenham)
8. Lucy Pinder (Southampton)
9. Kim Marsh (Manchester United)
10. Helen Chamberlain (Torquay United)

Ugliest Football Fans

1. Jo Brand (Crystal Palace)
2. Delia Smith (Norwich)
3. Alison Moyet (Southend)
4. Kate Garraway (Gillingham)
5. Claire Sweeney (Everton)
6. Michelle Marsh (Oldham Athletic)
7. Gabby Logan (Leeds)
8. Emma B (Aston Villa)
9. Donna Air Newcastle)
10. Geri Halliwell (Watford)

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The Rivalry Between Liverpool and Manchester United

One of the fiercest rivalries in English football, and even in World football, is the rivalry between Liverpool football club and Manchester United football club.

There is no love lost between the fans, players or managers of the two giants of club football.

A Tale of Two Cities
The origins of this rivalry point towards the rivalries of the two cities since industrial times. Liverpool and Manchester were challenging for supremacy of the north west of England. Manchester was renowned for it's excellent manufacturing capabilities, whilst Liverpool had long been a major city due to it's port.

However, once the Manchester Ship Canal was built, ships were able to bypass Liverpool to carry goods directly to Manchester. The loss in jobs in Liverpool no doubt strengthened the hostilities between the two cities.

On the Pitch
The first match between the clubs was on 12 October 1895 which Liverpool won 7-1. There have been 152 league matches. Manchester United have won 58, Liverpool 51 and there have been 43 draws.

If anything the off field rivalries between the cities have been deepened by the great successes of the two clubs. Both clubs have had periods of dominance of English soccer and each of these periods has increased the rivalry between the clubs.

During the 1970's and 80's, Liverpool dominated English Football and to some extent European Football, winning 11 league titles and 4 European Cups.

The 1990's onwards have belonged to Manchester United who also won 11 league titles as well as 2 European Cups.

Significantly in 2009, Manchester United equalled Liverpool's long standing record of having won 18 League titles overall. The team that came second was...Liverpool. The competition between the two teams reached fever pitch during this season. No more proof of this was required than the 'War of Words' between the two club managers, Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez. The pair traded verbal blows as the season was heading to a thrilling climax.

Is this rivalry good or bad?
Well, in one sense the intensity of the rivalry spills over into deep hatred and irrational loathing not only from the fans, but from the players and managers too. Sometimes the personal insults that are thrown at each other seem to be going too far.

In another sense, however, you get the sense that it is this rivalry that really creates the massive amount of motivation to succeed. Both clubs are determined to be more successful than the other and this seeps through from the fans to the players to the manager to every person connected with the clubs. It could be argued that neither club would have been as successful as they have been without this fierce rivalry.

What of the future?
With both clubs on 18 league titles, the 2009/10 league season promises to be the most bitterly contested ever as neither team will want to live with the stigma of falling behind in the reckoning.

You can have your say on who is the greatest and also see what others think at the Football Duel.

As another season beckons, hold on to your seats and watch the next chapter of this fascinating rivalry unfold!

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Grand Slam Sunday - Liverpool vs Manchester United & Arsenal vs Chelsea

Sunday 16 December 2007 has been billed "Grand Slam Sunday" because the top four teams in the Premiership go head to head as they pull ever further from the rest of the league. Fourth placed Liverpool begin the action at lunchtime when they host champions Manchester United.

Liverpool have been doing well of late, bar a 3-1 defeat at Reading last weekend. They come into the match off the back of a 4-0 hammering of Marseille in France, a result which assured their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League.

Second placed United beat struggling Fulham and Derby County in their last two games but they will face a much sterner test in a Liverpool team in which Steven Gerrard has found the net in his last seven consecutive matches.

United have had the better of recent meetings and have won five of the last six Premiership matches against Rafa Benitez's side. United have beaten Liverpool in their last three Premiership league matches and ironically the player who scored the winner against them last season, John O'Shea, was also the last person to score against United for Liverpool. He netted an own goal during United's 2-1 victory against the Reds back in 2004.

You just about have time to catch your breath when the match ends to prepare for the second offering of the afternoon, Arsenal vs Chelsea. The Gunners took the Premiership by storm for most of the first half of the season but a couple of poor results against Middlesbrough and Newcastle has seen their lead at the top reduced to a single point. Arsenal are still undefeated at home this season and Chelsea need to become the first team this season to beat them on their own turf if they want to catch them.

Chelsea have been in great form in the Premiership of late and have won seven of their last eight matches, including the the last three in a row. They have also conceded just one goal in this sequence and coupled with Arsenal's water-tight defence, a close, cagey encounter is expected. Arsenal have not managed to record a home win over Chelsea since October 2003 while the last two matches between the pair ended 1-1 last season.

More of the same is to be expected as indeed the first fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United as none of the four clubs will want to give anything away as the halfway stage of the season fast approaches.

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Manchester United to Play AC Milan in Champions League

The draw for the next round of Champions league is out now. The top two English clubs Manchester United and Chelsea will play against the two Italian Clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan. Arsenal will play against FC Porto.

Manchester United was thrashed out from Champions League in the 2006-07 season by AC Milan. It was the last time when Man United did not qualified for the final game. After that United have played the final in both seasons 2007-08 and 2008-09. This season's performance of Manchester United is not very eye catching like in the last few seasons. They are still struggling to fill in the place of Ronaldo. In January transfer window Sir Alex Ferguson will have to bring some good players to improve his side.

Chelsea will play against Inter Milan, which is currently coached by José Mourinho. Mourinho is the man who coached Chelsea to win two consecutive EPL trophies in seasons 2004-05 and 2005-06. Mourinho unexpectedly left Chelsea in 2007-08 season just before the game against Manchester United which Chelsea lost 2-0. So clearly he left Chelsea with some real bad memories although he became one of the greatest mangers for Chelsea football club. Now he is all set to take on Chelsea with his Inter Milan side. So it is better to say it will be Mourinho vs Chelsea.

Arsenal will be playing against FC Porto. FC Porto has won the Champions League Trophy in 2003-04 with José Mourinho coaching the Portuguese club.

Fixtures are following:

- Olympique Lyonnais vs Real Madrid CF 16/02/10 and 10/03/10
- AC Milan vs Manchester United FC 16/02 and 10/03
- FC Porto vs Arsenal FC 17/02/10 and 09/03/10
- FC Bayern München vs ACF Fiorentina 17/02/10 and 09/03/10
- VfB Stuttgart vs FC Barcelona 23/02/10 and 17/03/10
- Olympiacos FC vs FC Girondins de Bordeaux 23/02/10 and 17/03/10
- FC Internazionale Milano vs Chelsea FC 24/02/10 and 16/03/10
- PFC CSKA Moskva vs Sevilla FC 24/02/10 and 16/03/10

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Manchester United Vs Chelsea 2009

The biggest 2 teams in the English Football scene face off tomorrow afternoon at Old Trafford. Who will win?

In the first showdown of January we see Chelsea visit Old Trafford. Chelsea, only second in the league to Liverpool are aiming to get the win that will propel them to within 1 point of top spot. With Terry back in action we can be sure that Chelsea will be raring to get going and to show that they deserved to be European Champions, and but for the mishap of Terry they surely would have.

Manchester United on the other hand, knowing that if they will all the 3 games in hand that they have over Liverpool, are in the best position to reclaim top spot. Man U will be bouyed with return of Rio Ferdinand and with Ronaldo, lucky to be walking after his crash in this red Ferrari,will be eager to show Liverpool who are the real reds in England.

John Terry and Frank Lampard the die hard Chelsea players will surely be on top form for this battle of the titans. In this game you will only be remembered for the goals you score and the games you win. Till now John Teyy will be remembered for the missed penalty kick in the final game. With the keeper diving the wrong way, all Terry had to do was to put the ball in the back of the net, but he slipped and so history is written.

Manchester United will win the game and increase the pressure on Liverpool. With Rooney, looking sharp and Tevez, eager to get that 5 year contact I see that Man U will win the game quite easily.

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