Controversial penalty decision denies United

Manchester United stumbled in their pursuit of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table after drawing 1-1 with Newcastle at Old Trafford. With 29 attempts on goal for Manchester United, a red card for Newcastle and only a 1-1 scoreline to show for it all at the final whistle, Saturday's match at Old Trafford was more than a little out of the ordinary.

With the home side having taken the lead following a fortunate but not undeserved goal for wizard Javier Hernandez, after the ball had bounced around the Magpies area, it looked like the champions were about to grind out a fourth straight 1-0 league win.  A controversial penalty then led to Newcastle's equaliser as Rio Ferdinand brought down Hatem Ben Arfa but appeared to win the ball. Demba Ba made the most of referee Michael Jones' decision with a spot kick to
make it 1-1. A Jonas Gutierrez sending off with little over 10 minutes remaining looked to damage the visitors' chances of securing a point but they held on despite a flurry of late United chances in which Hernandez saw a goal ruled out.

Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to escape punishment from the FA despite his stinging criticism in the post match interview that followed of linesman John Flynn for awarding Newcastle the controversial penalty at Old Trafford. "The problem is that the referees are full-time and the linesmen are not, and whether he ever gets a game again, the assistant referee, is not for me to decide but it was an absolutely shocking decision."

Swansea City 0-1 Manchester United

Man Utd moved back to within five points of Premier League leaders Man City after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.Javier Hernandez's 11th minute strike gave the visitors all three points, with the Mexican slotting home after Ryan Giggs played him clean through after Rangel’s defensive error. Swansea started in brave fashion in front of their home fans but just over 10 minutes into the game, Rangel saw his pass intercepted at the edge of his own area, allowing Giggs to
surge into the box and square for Chicharito, who calmly lifted his effort into the net from close-range.

It was a tense 90 minutes in Wales, with both sides carving out a host of chances early on but United’s defence, which saw Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand partnered together once more, held firm against the pressure from the Swans, and the visitors saw a handful of chances to make the points secure go begging towards the end. The win keeps the Red Devils on the tail of fierce rivals City, who had cemented their place at the top of the table with a 3-1 win over Newcastle United earlier on Saturday.

Wayne Rooney Nominated for Fifa's 2011 Goal of the Year Award

Rooney's goal, which came from a Nani cross against United's fierce rivals in a 2-1 win at Old Trafford, left Joe Hart with no chance as it flew into the top corner. Tottenham's Giovani dos Santos, Barcelona's Lionel Messi and AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as well as Santos's Neymar, have all also been nominated for the prestigious Puskas award. Fifa’s 2011 Puskas award, which is named in honour of Hungary legend Puskas, will be announced on January 9 and was last won by Hamit Altintop.

Transfer News

Manchester United are the latest side to show an interest in Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze. According to the People Sir Alex Ferguson sent his brother Martin, one of United’s leading scouts, to watch the 19-year-old in action in Dortmund’s 5-1 victory over Wolsfburg. Gotze is a target for a number of Europe’s top clubs with Arsenal said to be particularly interested. Gotze also appears on a list of five players that Spanish newspaper Marca claimed this week were targets for Real Madrid by 2014.
Gotze has made 62 appearances for Dortmund, scoring 13 goals, and made the first of his 12 appearances for Germany at the age of just 18. United are also being linked with a summer move for
Barcelona defender Eric Abidal. The 32-year-old looks set to leave the Nou Camp at the end of the season after failing to agree a new deal with the club. Arsenal and Liverpool are also being linked with the Frenchman.

Rio Ferdinand Pranking Wayne Rooney

Legends who wore the Number 7

George Best
The Belfast Boy was a killer on the pitch and the original lady killer off it. He was the first true poster boy of the game, the “fifth Beatle,” his appeal spanning generations—the girls as crazy about his looks as the boys were about the way he dazzled defences. When he was discovered by Northern Ireland scout Bob Bishop, he sent this telegram to Sir Matt Busby : “I think I’ve found a genius,” and the then 15-year-old went on to make 470 appearances for United, scoring 179 goals. Superstardom killed him.

Eric Cantona
Very much a shock signing by Alex Ferguson in 1992, for what can now be declared a ridiculously low £1million from Leeds United, Cantona was the rogue genius of European football before his
arrival at Old Trafford. He was untamed and unmanageable. He inspired younger players like Ryan Giggs and David Beckham to express themselves; he became the icon of Ferguson’s first title triumph. His arrogance and exhibitionism was at times awe-inspiring, Many will always remember him more for his Kung-fu kick on a Crystal Palace fan, but that moment clouds what he achieved as a United player.

David Beckham
If George Best was the first poster boy of soccer, Beckham took it to a whole new level, becoming a marketing man’s dream, and by the time he was playing for Real Madrid in 2004, becoming the world’s highest-paid footballer—on his actual salary because only a small part of the money he made in sponsorship deals. Signed as a 17-year-old in 1992, from Leytonstone in London would make himself a right-wing sensation, becoming like another United No. 7 before him in Bryan Robson, captain of England. Alex Ferguson, however, grew tired of how Beckham embraced the pop culture side of his life after marrying Victoria, Posh Spice and sold him to Real in 2003.

Cristiano Ronaldo
He became, amongst other things, the first United player to win the Ballon d’Or in 40 years. Great Johan Cruyff, who lifted that award three times, saying of him : “He was better than George Best or Denis Law.” Ronaldo arrived from Sporting for £12.24 million in 2003. In season 2007-08, he scored an amazing 42 goals in 49 appearances, and it should be noted that in May of this year, he outperformed the Ferenc Puskas, becoming the highest scorer in a season for Real, scoring 51 times and beating the legendary striker’s record tally by two goals.There may have been no greater phenomenon in Old Trafford history than Ronaldo, far less in the history of the global game.

Micheal Owen
Michael Owen currently has the honour of wearing the most famous shirt number in the history of the club; a number that connects him with a lineage of genius.

Worst XI of the Ferguson Era

In the span of 25 years, Sir Alex Ferguson has immortalised himself in football history with his rich success at Manchester United but even the greatest managers make mistakes and Sir Alex has made a few over the years. Here's my worst XI of the Ferguson era...

A Little History

The story of Manchester United begins in 1878 when employees of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company's Carriage and Wagon Works requested permission and sponsorship from their employers to start a football team. Permission was given, and Newton Heath LYR (which stood for "Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway") was born, playing at a pitch on North Road. Initially they played against other teams of railway workers, within their own company and against teams from other companies, but in 1885, they entered in the Manchester Cup competition and reached the final. The next year, they won the competition.

The club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902. They won their first title in 1908, but it was not until the 1950s, and after the great Sir Matt Busby had taken over as manager, that the club enjoyed its first period of sustained success. He steered the club to three championships over the decade, and United also became the first English club to compete in the European Cup, where they lost in the semi-finals to Real Madrid in 1957. The club endured its darkest day in 1958 when the plane carrying the team home from a European match crashed, killing eight players in a tragedy known as the Munich air disaster.

Busby, who survived the crash along with arguably the club's greatest ever player Sir Bobby Charlton, rebuilt the team. A side featuring the dazzling George Best and Denis Law won two league titles in the 60s, before claiming their maiden European Cup, defeating Benfica in the 1968 final.After Busby resigned in 1969, no manager came close to emulating his success until Ferguson arrived in 86. After reportedly coming within one defeat of losing his job in 1990, Ferguson built a dynasty at Old Trafford and the club began their Premier League dominance with the 1993 title and which proved to be the springboard to becoming the force they are today.

Sir Alex Ferguson Stand

Manchester United left manager Sir Alex Ferguson emotional by naming a stand after him to celebrate his 25 years at the club. Chief executive David Gill revealed the surprise tribute as he stood on the Old Trafford pitch with Sir Alex before the kick-off. And there was thunderous applause from the 76,000 fans when workmen pulled away a cover on top of the north stand to uncover in big red letters ‘Sir Alex Ferguson Stand’.

‘I didn’t expect it and I didn’t know a thing about it,’ admitted Ferguson. ‘It made me feel really emotional and honoured to see my name on the stand. I think Mike Phelan knew what was going to happen, so he is sacked!’. The Scot, who took over the reins on November 6, 1986, walked out for the Barclays Premier League game against Sunderland through a guard of honour made up of both teams and Black Cats boss Steve Bruce, who played under Ferguson for nine years.
The club will also commission a statue of the manager to go outside the stand named after him. It is expected to be unveiled before start of next season.

25 Years in Charge

Alex Ferguson reaches 25 years in charge of Manchester United this Sunday. The Following is a list of the 27 major titles he has won with the club since Nov. 6, 1986:

Premier League (12) — 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011.

FA Cup (5) — 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004.

League Cup (4) — 1992, 2006, 2009, 2010.

Champions League (2) — 1999, 2008.

FIFA Club World Cup — 2008.

European Super Cup — 1992.

European Cup Winners' Cup — 1991.

Inter-Continental Cup — 1999.

Man Utd 2-0 Otelu Galati

An early goal from Antonio Valencia and a deflected Wayne Rooney effort gave Manchester United a hard earned 2-0 victory over Otelu Galati in the Champions League on Wednesday. The clash was United's first game at home since the 6-1 defeat to Manchester City, and the need to erase the memory of the derby day humiliation was noted by Sir Alex in the build-up to the match, and his side wasted little time in scoring the opening goal.

The hosts came out firing, with the visitors allowing Berbatov to trot forward and pass to the overlapping Phil Jones, who continued down the flank before crossing for Valencia to tap home from close range at the far post to open the scoring. A rare appearance for Owen ended abruptly when he came off after only 11 minutes to be replaced by Javier Hernandez, the move
most likely being precautionary. With the away side offering very little as an attacking force, Ferguson’s men didn’t need to up the tempo and intent as they held possession well.

United's one goal lead seemed likely to remain, until late in the game a long-range effort from Rooney deflected of Sarghi and left Grahovac with no chance of saving the shot to make it 2. The scoreline may have been harsh on the visitors, but Manchester United now move into pole position in Group C.

Rooney's Adsence due to England Ban

Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed he left Wayne Rooney out of his starting line-up for Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield as a direct result of the three-match ban that threatens to rule him out of Euro 2012. That was enough to trigger the decision to leave Rooney on the bench on Saturday, although he was introduced in the second half as United fought back to claim a point.
"Wayne was devastated at the suspension," said Ferguson. "He could miss the European Championships because there is no guarantee England are going to qualify from their group.

In his absence, Danny Welbeck led the United attack. Aside from one Phil Jones header into the side netting, the Old Trafford outfit played within themselves, concentrating on the defensive side of their game against opponents they have lost to three times in succession on their visits to Merseyside. It was not until Steven Gerrard curled Liverpool in front that United opened up. First Ferguson introduced Rooney and Nani, then Javier Hernandez, who headed home Nani's corner 15 minutes from the end to leave the points shared one a piece.

Most Appearances for Manchester United

Most Appearances

Rank: 1
Player: Ryan Giggs
Carreer Dates: 1991-present
Appearances: 886

Rank: 2
Player: Sir Bobby Charleton
Carreer Dates: 1956-1973
Appearances: 758