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[Gallego99]

Another one by Jose

Mourinho starts mind games with Manchester United by insisting Ibrahimovic is better than Ronaldo
By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 10:54 AM on 22nd December 2008
Comments (11) Add to My Stories
Jose Mourinho likes to think he knows a Special One when he sees one - and Cristiano Ronaldo just doesn't make the standard for the former Chelsea coach.

No need mind games he has a slight edge over Fergie in head to head encounters over the years. I wouldn't be the least surprise if he nicks this one. This will be a close one.

 

[The Monkees]

the Champion League will only start in Feb 09,so do not worry,when the times is near,be sure that Alex will also play along with the mind's games,that is always his style.

tonight against Derby County in the Semi-Final - First Leg of League Cup,Man Utd should not have any problem with it.

 

[Himerus]

Alex is reserving his first team players for the important match this weekend against Chelsea.
he played a team of youth players and reserved and got beaten 1-nil by Derby.
but i think they will overcome it during the 2nd Leg.

 

[yinyang]

Take nothing away from Derby, they were steadfast and good goal at that.

Home leg with 1 goal deficit is not too hard to overcome (hopefully):p

 

[jw5]

Alex is reserving his first team players for the important match this weekend against Chelsea.
he played a team of youth players and reserved and got beaten 1-nil by Derby.
but i think they will overcome it during the 2nd Leg.

He didn't play a team of youth players.
The starting XI was Kuzschak, Rafael, O'Shea, Vidic, Evans, Gibson, Anderson, Scholes, Nani, Welback and Tevez.
Only Gibson and Welback are young reserve players.
Ronaldo, Rooney and Carrick all came on in the second half but to no avail.
It was a poor performance.

 

[Wayne Piew]

Take nothing away from Derby, they were steadfast and good goal at that.

Home leg with 1 goal deficit is not too hard to overcome (hopefully):p

That's right, even with a 3-0 deficit, i'm confident Man United will overcome Derby in the return leg 2 weeks time. Lets just accept last night's performance was a one-off. Better to lose this game than the next 2 league games against Chelski and Wigan.
Anyway, Man United always responds well to setbacks.
So The Quadruple is still on.

 

[Wayne Piew]

He didn't play a team of youth players.
The starting XI was Kuzschak, Rafael, O'Shea, Vidic, Evans, Gibson, Anderson, Scholes, Nani, Welback and Tevez.
Only Gibson and Welback are young reserve players.
Ronaldo, Rooney and Carrick all came on in the second half but to no avail.
It was a poor performance.

Man United just need to beat Chelsea on Sunday and nobody will ever remembers this game, except maybe that stink-o of a dipstick Gallego99.
Tell me, how many times have you seen Man United lose two games in a row.

Never, rite.

Sir Alex likes to keep his eyes on the Prizes that everyone cares, not some mickey mouse cup which that dipstick Gallego99's team covets the most.

 

[yinyang]

WP, you might like this.:p

No offence to pool fans, just ribbing

 

[yinyang]

the BIG one

Red faced or mon blues come early hours mon morning?:p

BIG-MATCH FACTS
This eagerly awaited heavyweight clash at Old Trafford could be a defining match in the title race, as both clubs bid to make up ground on leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea go into the weekend three points behind the Merseysiders; Manchester United are seven points off the pace, and four points behind the Blues with two games in hand on both.

The top home club faces the top away club, going into this round of top division fixtures. United are unbeaten at Old Trafford; Chelsea unbeaten on the road so far in this Premier League campaign.

Chelsea are the first of the 'Big Four' clubs to visit Old Trafford this season; United have drawn one (at Chelsea) and lost two (v Arsenal and Liverpool).

The Red Devils are the first of the 'Big Four' Chelsea have faced away from home; Scolari's side have already lost to Liverpool and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

The last time Chelsea turned up at Old Trafford for a Premier League match, Jose Mourinho had just left the club, and Avram Grant took charge for the first time. The Blues lost 2-0.

Defeat for the home club will be their 150th league loss under Sir Alex Ferguson, and 300th home defeat in top-flight football; defeat for the Blues will be their 100th Premier League loss away from home.

Chelsea had to rely on a headed goal from Salomon Kalou 10 minutes from time to salvage a point from a pulsating reverse fixture in September. Park Ji-sung had given United the lead in the 1-1 draw.

Manchester United have conceded more goals (43) and dropped more points (58) to Chelsea than to any other club in the Premier League.

The Red Devils were the last club to beat Chelsea in a Premier League game by more than a single goal (23 September 2007); Chelsea were the last club to beat United by more than a single goal (29 April 2006).

Distance between the clubs: 204 miles (328 kilometres)

CLUB FORM
MANCHESTER UNITED

Club stats

Going into the weekend: 3rd 38 points

Best & Worst categories in 2008-09 Premier League
(all statistics are ahead of this weekend's round of Premier League fixtures)

1. Wednesday's surprise 1-0 away loss to Championship Derby in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final ended a five match winning run, and 14-game undefeated sequence in all competitions.

2. Unbeaten in seven Premier League matches; won five and drawn two since losing to Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on 8 November; their only loss in 15 league outings.

3. Not conceded in seven or 672 minutes (11 hours 12 minutes) of Premier League football since Samir Nasri scored Arsenal's second in their odd goal in three home victory two months ago.

4. Won the last seven home league games, conceding in just one of those seven victories (4-3 v Hull on 1 November).

5. Undefeated in 13 top-flight matches at the Theatre of Dreams; won 12 and drawn one (v Newcastle) since losing 1-2 against Manchester City on 10 February - their only defeat in 27 at home.

6. Won the last six home top-flight matches against London clubs, and lost one of 10 (against West Ham).

7. Won 50 of 60 Premier League matches at Old Trafford.

8. Not beaten a fellow 'Big Four' club, since the 2-1 home victory over Arsenal on 13 April.

9. Four points down on this same stage last season.

Fixtures

CHELSEA
Club stats

Going into the weekend: 2nd 42 points


Best & Worst categories in 2008-09 Premier League
(all statistics are ahead of this weekend's round of Premier League fixtures)

1. Undefeated in seven in all competitions.

2. Unbeaten in five Premier League games; won two and drawn since their only defeat in 11; 1-2, home to Arsenal on 30 November, when last top of the table.

3. Won 16 and drawn four of the last 20 away top-flight fixtures, since losing 1-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates on 17 December 2007.

4. Won their first eight league games on the road this season, and drawn the most recent two.

5. The 2-2 draw at Fulham on 28 December were the first goals conceded in eight games away from home.

6. Not lost in the North-West since last season's visit to Old Trafford.

7. One point up on the equivalent juncture last season, but seven and 17 points down on the corresponding stage in their title-winning seasons.

Fixtures

KEY PLAYER NOTES
MANCHESTER UNITED

Squad profiles

Cristiano RONALDO is yet to score a Premier League goal against Chelsea.

Edwin VAN DER SAR is leading the race for the Barclays Golden Glove, along with Jose REINA of Liverpool and Chelsea's Petr CECH. All three have kept 11 clean sheets, ahead of this current round of fixtures.

If selected:-

Rio FERDINAND will be making his 200th Premier League appearance for Manchester United.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHELSEA

Squad profiles

Kose BOSINGWA and Frank LAMPARD are the only remaining players to have started all of Chelsea's Premier League matches this season.

Nicolas ANELKA is the top-scoring Premier League player with 16 club goals in all competitions, and is leading the race for the Barclays Golden Boot with 14 Premier League goals.

Petr CECH is level with Liverpool's Jose REINA and Manchester United's Edwin VAN DER SAR, in the race for the Barclays Golden Glove. All three have kept 11 clean sheets (going into this weekend's fixtures).

HEAD TO HEAD
Chelsea's only win in six Premier League matches at the Theatre of Dreams was 1-3 on 10 May 2005 when Tiago, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole got on the score sheet.

Discounting the penalty shoot-out loss in last season's Community Shield, Chelsea have only lost two of their last 15 competitive games against Manchester United.

Home and away
League (inc PL): Man United 55 wins, Chelsea 37, Draws 41
Prem: Man United 9 wins, Chelsea 10, Draws 14

at Man United only
League (inc PL): Man United 26 wins, Chelsea 17, Draws 23
Prem: Man United 5 wins, Chelsea 4, Draws 7

LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Manchester United 2-0 Chelsea
23 September 2007 - Ref: Mike Dean
Man Utd scorers: Tevez 45, Saha 90 (pen)
Sent Off: Obi (Chelsea) 32

THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE
Chelsea 1-1 Manchester United
21 September 2008 - Ref: Mike Riley
Chelsea scorer: Kalou 80
Man Utd scorer: Park 18

REFEREE
Howard Webb (Yorkshire)

 

[The Monkees]

agreed with bro yinyang,
a 1-nil deficit is nothing to Man Utd,it can be easily overcome.
this weekend,it will be one of the most important game for Man U and Chelsea.
so surely can expect a lot of actions.

Good Luck To All Here .

 

[Wayne Piew]

The Fat Spanish Waiter should ask Mr Keegan and that French Wanker what happens when you try to do mind games with the Great Sir Alex.

There will only be one winner, and that is the incomparable Sir Alex Ferguson.
Fat spanish waiter is rattled, his temporary current league leader side are rattled, can only draw with the lowly Stoke last night. Can't even score a single goal against a team that is relegation-bound like Stoke in 180mins and yet their supporters HERE IN THIS FORUM have the audacity to proclaim this is their YEAR!

Come on Red Devils, beat Chelski tonight. Its a win or bust. No draw pls. Not like that spanish waiter who proclaim a draw against Stoke was a perfect result. What A Joke!! Whahahah!!!

Liverpool are all talk, says Fergiehttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle5489230.ece

SIR ALEX FERGUSON has risked deepening his rift with Rafael Benitez by suggesting Liverpool’s challenge for the Premier League title is little more than talk. Ferguson said Chelsea, whom his team face today, remain Manchester United’s main rivals. “I’m of the opinion that it [the title race] usually goes down to two teams, in the last month anyway,” said Ferguson. His implication was that neither of those twin contenders would be the Anfield side.

Ferguson’s remarks are sure to further pique Benitez who, on Friday, launched a prolonged and premeditated verbal assault on the United boss, detailing a litany of complaints about Ferguson, the gist of which were that his rival had been allowed by the lawmamkers of English football to place himself above the rules.

In his latest comments, Ferguson downplays the seriousness of Liverpool’s bid for a first title in 19 years. “Liverpool have had a good start and it’s given them more confidence and there’s more expectation on them now. They’re talking about winning the league, the supporters are talking about winning it and the players are talking about [it] so that’s a change. But they’ve not been able to talk about it for at least a good few years,” he said. He still expects the title to come down to a scrap between United and Chelsea. “Chelsea have experience and have been our main rivals for the last five years.”
__________________

 

[yinyang]

Just 1 word suffice to describe joy tonight over chelskis:

ORGASMIC win:p

 

[Nomad]

congratulation to all here for the great win by Man Utd.
now the advantage is on Man Utd with the 2 matches on-hand.

 

[yinyang]

The Fat Spanish Waiter should ask Mr Keegan and that French Wanker what happens when you try to do mind games with the Great Sir Alex.

Picked this link up with Rafa's rant and win this morning..:p

OH RAFA, what have you gone and done?

The Liverpool boss tweaked the lion’s tail with his astonishing outburst against Alex Ferguson on Friday.

And how Fergie’s United roared in response with this comprehensive destruction of a woeful Chelsea. By the time Liverpool figure again in the Premier League, United will have played twice more, could be top of the table and on their way to a third successive title.

We may look back on the Rafa Benitez rant as the most disastrous own goal of the season. The Spaniard is already suffering from kidney stones, now he has added to his own anguish. Benitez’s old adversary, Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho who was in the stands here, would not have recognised the lack of fight in the visitors compared to the ruthlessly effective machine he built at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho had the Indian sign over Fergie at Old Trafford. This was the first time he had seen Chelsea lose there.
Exposed. Certainly he would not have believed the way they were exposed at set-pieces. Big Phil Scolari has a mountain of problems. His record among the so-called Big Four is one point out of 12. It is no longer like watching Brazil.
The squad are not convinced by his training methods and moody striker Didier Drogba is just going through the motions.

He had two chances in the game, one shot was so bad it went out for a throw, the other was a complete mis-kick. He looks like a man who wants out — maybe Jose can help.

The lack of fire in the Chelsea belly should take nothing away from United’s performance. The ageless Ryan Giggs was imperious in central midfield allowing Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov to work their magic. Mind you Rooney walked the line early on when he persistently swore at referee Howard Webb and turned his back on the official following a tussle with Jose Bosingwa. Rooney was not even booked after that row but he could be forgiven for losing his temper just before half-time after a clever piece of thinking at a corner. The England ace walked towards the ball and flicked it out of the quadrant without Chelsea noticing. Giggs rolled it forward, ran towards the box, crossed and Ronaldo headed in. The linesman flagged to indicate the Welshman had taken his own corner but he had not and Rooney went nuts. You could understand United’s frustration.

It is a move they had worked on and may never be able to pull off the surprise element again. Had it been the difference between United winning and drawing, the ramifications would have gone on until the end of the season. But, fortunately for the officials, Giggs re-took the corner, which was flicked on by Berbatov and unmarked Nemanja Vidic popped up at the back post to head in.

It was a crucial advantage to take into the break and it was difficult to see Chelsea coming back even though their away record was the best in the country, having won eight and drawn two of the previous 10 league games on their travels. Deco, Scolari’s pet, was subbed for Nicolas Anelka as the manager switched to 4-4-2. But the partnership between Drogba and Anelka did not click and United carried on where they had left off.

Fergie’s men were in complete control by the 63rd minute after Patrice Evra collected a back-heel from Ronaldo and the cross was finished off by Rooney, who somehow managed to side-foot the ball between Ashley Cole’s legs.
Ronaldo really enjoyed that one. He was abused during the game by Chelsea fans who sickeningly chanted “You should have died in the tunnel” — a reference to him writing off his £200,000 Ferrari on the way to training last week.

It was not racist or homophobic, which are the types of chants the FA are trying to stamp out, but it was certainly distasteful. The Portuguese genius is expected to be crowned World Player of the Year today and he was robbed of a goal which would have capped an excellent performance. He was onside when Berbatov played him in with eight minutes left and his finish was emphatic but the linesman flagged him offside. Ronaldo was loving the freedom and he was an inch wide from punishing Ashley Cole for his dreadful misplaced pass. It was shooting practice for United by now.

Chelsea could not muster a single shot on target — that helped allow Ferguson’s men to rack up their club-record eighth successive Premier League clean sheet.

And it was a bitter experience for a proud Blues skipper like John Terry.
The England captain was mockingly cheered by United fans for his missed penalty in the Champions League final shootout which allowed them to carry off the trophy in Moscow last May. And Terry’s miserable day was complete when Ronaldo’s free-kick dropped between him and Michael Ballack and Berbatov converted from close range.

 

[Wayne Piew]

Just 1 word suffice to describe joy tonight over chelskis:

ORGASMIC win:p

It could have been 4-0 or 5-0, all thanks to Fat Spanish Waiter pre-game pep talk!
A fantastic result and now we are in the driving seat with 2 games in hand with 5 pts behind , the rest will now be playing catch up. Especially those red Pretenders from Merseyside.

And to that dipstick Gallego99, some cold hard facts for you.
Man United 3 vs ONLY genuine title contender 0
Relegation Bound team 0 vs L@#4))$#L 0 (TWICE)
So you better start handling the brutal truth!!

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

Relax lah Wayne Piew, perhaps it is "squeaky bum time" for Rafa:( But there is still alot to play for and if you too were truly honest, Man U did not look all that great last night, more like Chelsea and Scolari have totally lost the plot

 

[jw5]

Relax lah Wayne Piew, perhaps it is "squeaky bum time" for Rafa:( But there is still alot to play for and if you too were truly honest, Man U did not look all that great last night, more like Chelsea and Scolari have totally lost the plot

Giggs played liked a man with something to prove.
He made some great runs through central midfield, was incisive in his passing and ferocious in his tackling.

 

[Gallego99]

Relax lah Wayne Piew, perhaps it is "squeaky bum time" for Rafa:( But there is still alot to play for and if you too were truly honest, Man U did not look all that great last night, more like Chelsea and Scolari have totally lost the plot

I'll let Ah Tiew do all the pompom cheerleading.
You are right about United not playing as well as the result suggest. They all came from set pieces and that I am sure is a major concern for Ferguson. Goals from open play are hard to come by which in part was probably due to the constant rotation of players.

On the subject of Chelsea, I reckon with the talent that they have, they'll still be the main challengers for EPL honors come May.
The fire alarm on matchday at their hotel may have unsettled the team.

 

[Gallego99]

Giggs played liked a man with something to prove.
He made some great runs through central midfield, was incisive in his passing and ferocious in his tackling.

He needs a contract @ the end of season. Park oso needs to prove that he's worthy of an extension. The young players have much to learn from their seniors n it wouldn't surprise me if they renew Gigg's contract by another year.

I think Nani may be asked to go. He has not improved at all and his performances of late were simply atrocious.

 

[Gallego99]

Spain Coach Del Bosque Voted For Cristiano Ronaldo; Casillas For Eto’o
Spain’s two representatives to vote for yesterday’s FIFA World Player of the Year, coach Vicente del Bosque and captain Iker Casillas, had differing views as to who was the best footballer of 2008.

Spain Coach Del Bosque Voted For Cristiano Ronaldo; Casillas For Eto’o
galleria zoom

Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo galloped away with the FIFA World Player gong when he amassed a whopping 935 points from the votes cast by national team coaches and captains from 115 countries.

Lionel Messi came in second with 678 points, Fernando Torres with 203, while Kaká and Xavi rounded up the top five with 183 and 155 points respectively.

Euro 2008 champions and FIFA’s number one ranked team, Spain, were represented by coach Vicente del Bosque and captain, Iker Casillas, but neither agreed on who the best three players of the year were.

Del Bosque’s first choice pick was eventual winner, Ronaldo, followed by Messi and Steven Gerrard. Casillas, however, chose good friend but rival Samuel Eto’o as his number one, with Gerrard in second place and Messi third.

Ronaldo’s compatriots, coach Carlos Quieroz selected Xavi, Kaká and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in that respective order while captain, Nuno Gomes went for an all-striker pick: Ruud van Nistelrooy, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o.

Over at Messi’s Argentina, coach Diego Maradona chose Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic and Emmanuel Adebayor; while captain, Javier Mascherano’s pick, perhaps predictably, had a very distinct English look about it as he voted for Ronaldo, Fernando Torres and Gerrard.

England coach, Fabio Capello chose the exact order of the eventual top three: Ronaldo, Messi and Torres; but captain, John Terry, placed Xavi and Torres ahead of one of his fiercest direct adversary over the years, Ronaldo.

Perennial giants, Italy had a worrying shortage of nominees for 2008 but coach, Marcello Lippi selected Messi, Ronaldo and Torres, while skipper, Fabio Cannavaro voted for Ronaldo as his first choice, Real Madrid teammate Casillas in second, Ibrahimovic in third while omitting his close club foe, Lionel Messi completely.

As per the stipulations, coaches and captain were not allowed to vote for players from their own countries.