Posts Tagged ‘manchester united’

Who’s The Best Club In UK Football?

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

There’s been a healthy rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool FC for over 100 years…but is that a good thing or a bad thing.

Everyone has heard of at least one famous sporting rivalry in history.There was Muhammad Ali duking it out with Joe Frazier, Greg Norman taking on Nick Faldo on the golf course and Chris Evert battling Martina Navratilova on the tennis court.A healthy cricket rivalry continues between India and Pakistan.  There’s even been a classic rivalry in the world of chess with Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov battling it out in several matches over the years.

But can any of these admittedly classic face-offs hold a candle to the colossal confrontation that occurs whenever the Red Devils of Manchester United clash with the Liverpool Reds?This could be the greatest rivalry in football, but it’s time to take a closer look at things to determine why it exists, and why it continues

1. The Northwest Derby – Matchups between the two clubs are often referred to using this moniker.The cities of Manchester and Liverpool have been in competition since industrial times, and that sense of being rivals has permeated into the football world.

2. “The Greatest English Football Club” – Manchester United and Liverpool both lay claim to the title of The Greatest English Football Club.  A similar number of trophies have been won by each club, and they are also the two most successful English teams in European competition.

3. Fans and Money – The two clubs are widely-supported throughout the world and boast some of the most devoted fans in any sport.Also, they are two of the biggest-earning clubs in the world.

4.  Player Haters – As with a lot of football clubs, the fans can be downright hostile to each other sometimes.  With Liverpool and Man U, though, the hostility spills over to the players too occasionally.  United striker Wayne Rooney has publicly stated how he grew up hating Liverpool.  Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard meanwhile once told a television crew how, although he regularly exchanges shirts with opposing players, he will never have a Manchester United shirt in his house.

5. Transfers? Are You Kidding Me? – There have been no direct transfers of players between the two clubs since 1964; the few who have played for both sides have always played for a different city’s club in between. As recently as 2007, United left-back Gabriel Heinze expressed a desire to move to Liverpool, and a bid was made, but Man U rejected the bid and stated that Heinze would only join a foreign club if he chose to leave – all due to the age old rivalry.

In a way, it’s inspiring the way two rival football clubs can be so passionate about the sense of competition between them.Some people out there, though, must think the whole concept of these sporting grudges is a waste of time.So, which side is obviously the best club in football?That’s simple.  Everyone knows it’s Spurs.

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Alex Ferguson To Sign Serie A Star

Monday, December 28th, 2009

It appears that Marek Hamsik has lined up a £25m transfer bid to move to Manchester United come January.

The form of veteran former England midfielder Paul Scholes, plus the fact that Ryan Giggs is not getting any younger has convinced Sir Alex Ferguson of the need to bring in a top notch quality replacement to bolster what is perceived by some critics to be United’s biggest weakness, midfield.

Manchester is not alone in regards to Hamsik, both Chelsea and rivals Liverpool have shown interest in the star midfielder. The Slovakian international started his career with Slovan Bratislava but quickly showed his quality to persuade Brescia to snap him up. Managing to score 10 goals at Brescia from the midfield before being lifted from the team for 5.5 m Euros to move to Napoli.

Since joining Napoli in 2007, Hamsik has established himself as one of the finest box to box, goalscoring midfielders in Serie A. His impressive record of 25 goals in just 81 games bears comparison with some of the finest midfielders in Serie A and there are many strikers who would be proud to boast a similar strike rate. The Slovakian midfielder has quickly been named the best midfielder in Serie A by experts throughout Italy after his two goals against Juventus.

Hamsik’s performances have been equally impressive for his national side, Slovakia. His efforts were a major part in Slovakia’s entry into the World Cup in 2010. He may well re-write world cup history.

Riccardo Bigon however has stated over the last few weeks that they have no intention of selling the player.

“Manchester United are after Hamsik? If we rejected the rumours regarding a friend like [Carlo] Ancelotti and his Chelsea, it is obvious we also reject these rumours.”

These comments have since been substantiated by Napoli chairman Aurielo De Laurentiis who confirmed:

“Many clubs have requested Hamsik, it’s true, but he will stay with us for the long-term”

Whether this stance will soften in the summer, when United hope to make their move, remains to be seen. Whether Napoli really plans to keep Hamsik into the future only time will tell, with not a lot of cash in the club it can be hard to see them not be at least tempted to sell the player if the offer is right.

Chelsea’s desperation to buy players may push any deals between the two clubs away. Roman Abramovich has purportedly given manager Carlo Ancelotti the green light to make a £25m move for the player so they might beat Manchester United to the punch

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How to Safely Buy Manchester United Football Tickets Online

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Purchasing Manchester United football tickets online is actually a pretty safe way to get them, but there are scammers out there and it is important to be aware of how they operate. The first thing that you can do to protect yourself if you plan to buy Manchester United football tickets is to only do business with an online ticket vendor with a good reputation. One of the best ways to ascertain whether or not you should make a purchase from somewhere is to go through customer reviews. In addition to worries about getting ripped off by some dishonest site, you also want to avoid vendors that don’t deliver their goods on time. When reading a customer review on a ticket vendor, it is important to make sure it is a legitimate review and not just clever advertising. The best way to discern if a review is genuine or advertising is to look for a hyperlink towards the end of the review.

When you read a review of a product, if it has a link to the product, then you are probably reading a review which has been paid for. With today’s email spam blockers becoming more powerful, advertisers rethink their ways of getting their product out there and they have turned to reviews which are favorable to get their product in the public eye. Reviews which do not contain links are more likely to be genuine. Some people prefer to buy tickets on eBay because you can often find cheaper prices, but it is definitely a better idea to do business with a website specializing in tickets. Sometimes ticket sellers on eBay ship the ticket too late, and sometimes not even at all. Most people you do business with on eBay are honest but if you decide to purchase this way make sure you read their feedback to get a better idea of how professional they are.

You can also protect yourself by never putting down any information about yourself in a page that is not encrypted. This is a feature not many people look for when checking out, but the importance of it can not be understated. What are the signs that will tell you if a web page is encrypted? You will see HTTP at the start of a website address HTTP will change to “HTTPS”, if a web page is encrypted. Encryption is at all times the best way to go, and while lack of it doesn’t necessarily imply that you’re dealing with a criminal company, it also doesn’t say much about how  they regard the privacy of your information. If you are interested in a ticket vendor, they have good reviews, and their check out page is encrypted, then you can be pretty certain that the vendor is safe to purchase from.

It is probably a good idea to follow these suggestions to avoid being scammed.  It is also a good idea to follow your instincts. If something about a vendor does not seem quite right, do not purchase anything from them. If something seems off then there is a good chance something is. A little scrutiny goes a long way when it comes to avoiding a scam artist. Finally, you need to find the one which costs the least. You will be able to make your next purchase with confidence after reading all the information on this article.

The next time you buy sporting events tickets, buy from your online concierge for global sporting events.. PremiumTicketHub.com.

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The Red Army and The Field of Dreams

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

Buying home game Manchester United tickets does not just provide an opportunity to see the Red Devils play live, it also provides the chance to soak in the atmosphere at Old Trafford, sometimes known as the Field of Dreams, and the home of the Red Army.

  Apart from 8 years after it was bombed out during WWII, Manchester United tickets for home games at Old Trafford have been bought by fans since 1910.

The stadium was named Field of Dreams by one of its most renown players Bobby Charlton.   

In 1966, Sir Robert “Bobby” Charlton, won the World Cup and was also named European Footballer of the year, in part because of his famous midfield attacks and his ferocious long-range shots.

Seating 76,212 Manchester United ticket buying fans Old Trafford is one of the largest of any English football stadiums, and it is one of only two stadia in England to have been given a  “UEFA elite stadium” five-star rating by UEFA.

As a neutral venue, Old Trafford has hosted many FA Cup semi-final matches and a number of  “English national football team” England international fixtures.

It has also played host during the  “1966 FIFA World Cup”  and  “UEFA Euro 1996″ and the  “2003 UEFA Champions League Final”.

Stands, officially known as the North, East, South and West Stand surround the pitch at Old Trafford.

Three out of the four stands have at least two tiers, except the South stand which has just a single tier.

The lower tier of each stand is split into Lower and Upper sections, the Lower sections having been converted from standing room only terraces in the early 1990s.

The West Stand at Old Trafford is the most famous, and is known as the  Stretford End.

Originally designed to hold 20,000 fans, the Stretford End was the last remaining where fans watched the game on their feet at the ground before the forced upgrade to seating in the early 1990s.

Stretford End is where Manchester United’s most die-hard supporters, known as The Red Army are located.

Most of the noise and atmosphere at Old Trafford emanates from Stretford End, and once the roar from the Red Army there was measured as louder than that of a jumbo jet lifting off.

It is practically impossible to get a seat in the Stretford End as the fans that fill this stand resubscribe to their Manchester United season tickets every year.

Manchester United’s fan’s, better known as the Red Army was once the biggest and most notorious group of followers British football has ever seen.

When the Red Army followed their team to an away game, the town would be in a uproar:  the fans would travel en-mass by train, coach, car or even by foot if necessary to get to the game.   

During the mid-seventies when Manchester United had been relegated from the top flight of English football and played in the  “Football League Second Division” Second Division for one season, the Red Army caused such chaos at games around the country when visiting stadiums where they would often outnumber the home fans, that it led to the introduction of segregation and fencing between of home and away fans at football grounds throughout England.

These days, the Red Army is quite different to what it was in the 1970’s & 80’s.

This Manchester United supporters club, now has a fan base of over 300 million fans across the world.

The sheer number of Manchester United fans, all of whom would like to get to Old Trafford, both to see the game and to experience the atmosphere there, result in it almost always being difficult to buy Manchester United Tickets.

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