Manchester United vs Newcastle United Time & Live Score: EPL 2010-11

Manchester United is going to start the new Premier League campaign on Monday (16 August 2010) when they take on newly-promoted Newcastle United at the Old Trafford in Manchester. Ferguson boys would be looking for a winning start, while the Magpies would not mind even with a point from the fixture.

Time

The match kicks off at 19:00 GMT and 20:00 BST. As per USA time, the match starts at 15:00 (New York time) and at 12:00 (California time).

Live Score

To get the live score of the match, visit the following link:

http://www.livescore.com/

Following three consecutive successes, Manchester United lost the league title to Chelsea last season. So, retaining the title would be their main focus and they would not like to lose points against Newcastle in that pursuit. Red Devils fans are hoping that striker Wayne Rooney would get his rhythm back sooner than later and starts scoring for United from the opening match.

Wayne Rooney had a poor World Cup with England in South Africa following a highly successful season that saw him finishing second in the top scorers’ list with 26 league goals last season.

There were many who were surprised to see Newcastle United back to the Premier League just a year after being relegated to the Championship. They lost a number of star players like Michael Owen who joined Manchester United last summer and were in a financial crisis.

However, Newcastle put all these setbacks behind them and won the Championship title under the shrewd guidance of Chris Hughton. The manager has already revealed that avoiding relegation is not what his team is focusing on; rather his team wants to achieve something more.

However, history favors the Red Devils. Since the start of the Premier League, Newcastle United has never won at Old Trafford.  Moreover, Manchester United did not lose to Newcastle in their last 15 league meetings with Newcastle as they won 12 and drew 3 matches. The last time Untied lost to Newcastle was back in 2001 when the Magpies defeated the Red Devils 4-3 at the St James’ Park, and the last time Manchester United lost a home match to Newcastle United in the league came in 1972.

Now, ahead of the match both sides have some injury worries. Manchester United would miss defender Rio Ferdinand who is yet to recover from a knee injury. Two midfielders, Owen Hargreaves and Anderson, are also unavailable for the match due to their knee injuries.

Newcastle United would also miss a number of players through injuries. Leon Best, Danny Simpson, Dan Gosling and Steven Taylor are all injured out, while former Manchester United player Alan Smith is doubtful with an ankle injury. However, striker Andy Carroll is expected to be available for the visit of Old Trafford.

Portuguese Youngster Bebe: From Streets to Manchester United

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has once again made the newspaper headlines for a surprising signing. He recently splashed £7.4 million for a relatively unknown Portuguese player named Bebe.

The striker’s experience in top-flight football is restricted only to playing for Estrela da Amadora in Portugal’s Third Division and a few friendly matches for Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes.

United boss Ferguson came to know about his talent through his former assistant Carlos Queiroz who is currently at the helm of Portugal national team. Real Madrid was also tracking the 20-year-old versatile player.

Though he was born as Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, he is now better known as Bebe, a nickname given by his elder brother. He was brought up in a children’s home named Casa do Gaiato de Santo Antao do Tojal as his poor parents were unable to provide him a good life.

The most interesting thing is that he did not learn football at a training center or at the youth side of a club. He learned the game just playing on the streets with other street children.

Bebe took part in the European Street Football Festival, held in Bosnia in 2009, and scored 40 goals in 6 games for the CAIS homeless organization.

With a height of 6 feet and 2 inches, Bebe has aerial advantage. He can play in various positions in the midfield as well as in attack. The youngster is quite comfortable playing on either flank. Moreover, he can also operate through the middle as well as a second striker. In fact, Bebe is well-known for his creativity and scoring prowess.

There are many who believe that Sir Ferguson has played a gamble by spending that much money on a player like Bebe whose quality at the top flight football is not yet proven. Well, that is pretty true, but given his upbringing and talent, it seems Bebe could be a future star at Old Trafford.

Manchester United vs Philadelphia Union Time and Live Score: North America Tour 2010

Manchester United heads into their second pre-season friendly match against MLS club Philadelphia Union on 21 July at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, USA. This is going to be the Premier League side’s second match on their North America tour.

Time

The match kicks off at 23:30 GMT. According to USA time, the match starts at 19:30 (New York time), 16:30 (California time) and 18:30 (Central Daylight time).

Live Score

Live updates of the match can be found at the following website:

http://www.scorespro.com/soccer/

Manchester United defeated Celtic 3-1 in their first match on the tour in Toronto, Canada with Dimitar Berbatov showing an impressive display of football. The most important thing is that the young players are looking for their opportunities in the friendly matches to prove themselves before the Premier League kicks off.

The squad Manchester United is carrying in North America includes a number of young talented players. The good side of it is that they can learn a lot from the experienced members like Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, while they can take inspiration from the fellow young players like Nani who have already settled in United first eleven.

Performance of Dimitar Berbatov against Celtic definitely came as a big relief for manager Sir Alex Ferguson who was even reportedly planning to offload him this Summer following the Bulgarian’s poor shows over the last couple of seasons since his move from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. Now, Untied fans and Ferguson would expected Berbatov to continue his fine from against Philadelphia Union too.

Winger Nani, who missed the World Cup 2010 due to injury, would most probably return in action with the Philadelphia match. Nani was impressive during the second half of the last season and his presence in the United squad is now more important after the departure of his fellow countryman Cristiano Ronaldo. So, Nani’s return to action is another relieving factor for Manchester United fans.

Philadelphia Union may not start as favorite, but their players could put on some inspirational display knowing that they are playing one of the best European clubs. They have some very good players like Danny Califf, Fred, Stefani Miglioranzi and Sébastien Le Toux, who has been in excellent form recently.

Manchester United is clearly favorite and is expected to win the affair easily, but Philadelphia Union could come up with an upset by capitalizing on the slightest of lapses from United.

Manchester United vs Philadelphia Union: Just a Friendly Match

There is hardly any coverage of the Manchester United vs Philadelphia Union preseason friendly match in British Media until now. The match will take place in less than 24 hours and it will take place on Lincoln Financial Field- a stadium of around 69,000 seating capacity. Of course, it is a good opportunity for Philadelphia Union players to showcase their talent and good performance can turn some heads in Europe.

Lincoln Financial Field is not completely a new stadium for Man United as they played a friendly match against Barcelona in 2003 in this stadium in front of a huge crowd of 68,396.

This time, in North American tour, Manchester United has brought mainly young players and is giving them the opportunity to shine. The other day, they played the first match against Scottish giant Celtic and United won by 3-1.

For the fans who will come to watch the match, Dimitar Berbatov will be one of the major attractions. He played very well against Celtic.

As for Philadelphia Union, hardly anyone knows about them outside of USA. Even at MLS, they are not a big name. So, the match will help them to get global media coverage for a day.

Fortunately, the website of Philadelphia Union has posted a report about the match: Preview: Union vs Manchester United

Still, this friendly match is helping to generate interest about football or soccer in USA. If 40-50 thousand people turn up at the stadium then it will be a huge success irrespective of the final result of the match. 

Manchester United: Wayne Rooney has Complete Support of Alex Ferguson in the New Season

The last few weeks have been very bad for Wayne Rooney. His lack luster performance at World Cup 2010 disappointed everyone at England and naturally, he is no longer a favorite footballer to many fans now. However, Manchester United coach thinks that Rooney will surely make a strong come back in the new season.

Right now, Rooney is enjoying a vacation and he is not playing in the North American tour. This vacation is good for him and it would help him to become fresh again both physically and emotionally.

Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Rooney has immense talent at a very young age and gradually he will become a more matured and better player.

The Manchester United coach said to The Mirror, "Wayne had an improvement in terms of his timing and movement in the penalty box and his positioning was improved from the previous season. He got us over 30 goals and if he does that again and adds a little bit to his game, then that's what we expect.

The boy has got an incredible armoury of talent and what we have to do is to wait for that maturity.

We also do nurture it and try to advise and coach in a fashion which will improve his game. But the most important thing I think he needs now is maturity and, when he gets that, I think you will see the complete footballer."

There is no doubt that Wayne Rooney is one of the top 2-3 players at EPL today. He just needs to get back his mental calm and focus on his game in the upcoming season. He has got the ability to make things happen at any time any place. 

Manchester United vs Philadelphia Union: Young Players Desperate to Impress

Manchester United is facing Philadelphia Union in their second pre-season friendly match on 21 July at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. United started their North America 2010 tour with a 3-1 victory over Celtic last Friday in Toronto, Canada.

The Red Devils fans must be happy to see striker Dimitar Berbatov in good form in the opening fixture. It is a good sign for the Old Trafford side ahead of the next season because Berbatov has been a cause of concern for manager Sir Alex Ferguson due to his inconsistent performances since his move from Tottenham Hotspur in 2008.

The most important thing is that young players like goalkeeper Ben Amos are ready to give their best to impress Ferguson in their attempt to push themselves up in the pecking order. Young players know that veteran players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar are going to call it a day in the next one or two years. So, the young players are ready to capitalize on the chances given to them on the tour to strengthen their claims to fill up those gaps.

Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley already have impressed against Celtic, while the players like Ben Amos are looking for an opportunity. Darren Fletcher has also indicated that it is a great opportunity for the young players to prove themselves on this tour.

So, it would be a big mistake for Philadelphia Union if they think that United’s focus in the match would only be on getting good preparation ahead of the next season. In fact, the young guns of Manchester United would even give much more than what people can expect in a friendly match.

Manchester United are not afraid of huge spending of City: Ryan Giggs

Manchester City has spent a huge amount of money in the transfer market this summer. On the other hand, the local rival Manchester United is not that active in the market. This however does not make Ryan Giggs afraid and he thinks that the pressure will be only on City to perform after spending so much money.

Manchester United and Manchester City share a long history of rivalry. In the last few years, City has lost its way in the premier league but still when the local derby happens then passions become very high among the supporters and players of the two local clubs based in Manchester.

City is going to spend more the £100 million and there are rumors that they can even spend around £150 million thanks to generous supply of money from their Middle East owner.

Manchester City has been able to get a number of good players and compared to that, Sir Alex Ferguson has got just two new notable players until now. Chris Smalling and Javier Hernández are the news comers in Old Trafford.

Giggs said to the media, "It's a similar scenario to last season really. They've got so many talented players that, if they gel as a team, they'll be a force. If they don't then obviously it could be a frustrating season for them and they'll probably get a little bit of stick. But, if they gel as a team, like they proved in games last year, they can beat anyone."

Ryan Giggs thinks that it will not be a problem for United because they have a number of young players who will do very well in the upcoming season. He also thinks that it will be difficult for City coach Roberto Mancini to get a good team that will perform consistently.

Roberto Mancini has a very tough job this season. He will have to make sure that Manchester City can qualify for UEFA Champions League next season. For this, City has to finish at the top four in the premier league table. 

Manchester United Defeats Celtic 3-1 thanks to Dimitar Berbatov

Manchester United has made a good start to their North America tour by defeating Scottish giant Celtic 3-1 at Toronto. Dimitar Berbatov scored the first goal and assisted the other two for the United while Georgios Samaras scored the only goal from penalty for Celtic.

It was surely the night of Berbatov. There was no Rooney and he had to be in charge of the attack for Man United. They were without Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Park Ji-sung and Nemanja Vidic as these players are resting after World Cup. Still, there were players like  Berbatov, Edwin van der Sar, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs and it shows that Sir Alex Ferguson did not take the friendly against Celtic very lightly.

Celtic is of course a difficult to play and they offered good resistance in the first half. Dimitar Berbatov scored the first goal in the 34^th minute but Celtic came back in the 61 minute. It was surely not the night of Chris Smalling who made his debut for Manchester United. His foul on Joe Ledley brought a penalty for the Scottish club and Georgios Samaras did no mistake. The score was leveled.

Berbatov helped Welbeck to score the goal in 79^th minute while Bervatov again assisted in the 86^th minute. The third goal was scored by Cleverly.

Sir Alex Ferguson after the match said, "There was a period after Celtic scored when they got a bit of dominance over us and we had to get through. The second goal killed the game. It was a fantastic goal too, a marvellous bit of football from Berbatov. Celtic were very competitive. That's been the way when we have played them. There is not a lot in it between the two teams because the Scotland-England thing motivates both sets of players.''

Dimitar Berbatov was very happy and said to MUTV, "I was enjoying the whole game. We have started well with a win, Celtic are a very good team. They played very well. It's the first game of pre-season, still too early to judge, but it was a good test of our physical form and technical as well. We have a lot of games before the season starts so I think we will be fully prepared."

Manchester United is going to play against Philadelphia Union on Wednesday (21 July 2010). 

Manchester United vs Celtic Time and Live Score: North American Tour 2010

Manchester United is going to play their first pre-season match against Celtic today (16 July) at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. This is also the first match of the Red Devils on their North America tour, while Celtic has already faced Philadelphia Union on 14^th July.

Time

The match kicks off at 23:00 GMT. In the US, the match starts in New York time at 19:00, in California time at 16:00 and in Central Daylight Time (CDT) at 18:00.

Live Score

To get the live score of this friendly match, visit the following link:

http://www.soccerstand.com/

Premier League club Manchester United would feature their new kit for the first time in today’s match. The new kit featuring collar has been inspired by 1970’s jersey. Manchester United fans are also eagerly waiting to see new signing Chris Smalling for the first time in action.

Though it is a friendly affair, both sides would like to win the match and put on some good performances ahead of the next season. Celtic last season failed to win the Scottish Premier League title and is now determined to retain the title from Rangers next season.

Similarly, Manchester United also lost the English Premier League title last season to Chelsea and is looking to win it back next season. So, both sides would like to have a good preparation ahead of the next season, but at the same time would look to avoid any new injury.

Manchester United has left a number of star players like Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen and Gary Neville at home. Some of them have been granted a rest following their international duties in the World Cup, while some of them are recovering from their injury problems.

However, still Manchester United features the star players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov, Nani and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Alongside these experienced members, the Red Devils squad also includes some young but talented players like Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck, Jonny Evans and Corry Evans.

Celtic also has some quality players like Scott Brown, Georgios Samaras, Marc Fortune, Shaun Maloney and some others. Overall, it seems less likely that it would be a one-sided affair. Rather, there is every possibility this could be a highly entertaining match.

Live TV and Streaming of Manchester United North America Tour 2010

Manchester United is now on North America tour. They would play their first match in the tour against Celtic at the Rogers Center in Toronto of Canada on 16 July. They would then move to Philadelphia to face Philadelphia Union before facing Kansas City Wizards at Kansas in the USA.

Manchester United would face the MLS All-Stars team at Houston in their last match in USA on 28 July. The Red Devils fans are now eagerly waiting to see Manchester United players in their new kit for the 2010-11 season. The design of the new kit has been inspired by 1970’s Manchester United jersey and it features collar for the first time in many years.

Moreover, the fans are also excited to see the newly signed players Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez in action for the first time. So, there are a number of reasons to be interested about Manchester United’s pre-season tour, even though all these matches are nothing but friendly affairs.

The North America Tour 2010 of Manchester United is going to be covered by the following TV Channels:

ESPN2

Three of Manchester United’s matches on the tour would be broadcast live on ESPN2 television channel. These matches are: Manchester United vs Celtic (16 July), Manchester United vs Philadelphia Union (21 July) and Manchester United vs MLS All-Stars (28 July). ESPN2, a sports cable television network based in America, is owned by ESPN.

Fox Soccer Channel

Fox Soccer Channel would telecast only one match of the tour and that is Manchester United vs Kansas City Wizards (25 July). This specialty channel is owned by Fox Entertainment Group of News Corporation. Initially, the channel used to cover rugby and Australian Rules Football, but now this is a soccer channel.

Live Streaming on ESPN3.com

Except the Kansas City Wizards match, football fans can enjoy the live streaming of all of the Manchester United matches on their North America tour 2010 at ESPN3.com.

Manchester United could reportedly move to Mexico after the end of the MLS All-Stars match to face Mexican club Chivas. However, there is no information available about this match in the official website of Manchester United yet.

Manchester United Squad for North America Tour 2010

Manchester United will kick off their tour of North America on 16 July with a match against Scottish club Celtic in Toronto, Canada. There will be five matches (including a reported match against Mexican club Chivas) in the tour. The 23-man squad has already reached Chicago, USA where the players are now preparing at a training camp for the upcoming matches.

The squad includes a number of star players like Edwin van der Sar, veteran duo Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, striker Dimitar Berbatov, John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Darren Fletcher, Nani, and some other young but talented players like Federico Macheda, Jonny Evans and Danny Welbeck.

Manchester United fans would be able to see the two new signings Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez in action for the first time on their North America tour. Smalling put pen on paper last January, but spent the second half of the season at his former club Fulham. The England U-21 international is a physically strong defender with a height of 6 feet 4 inches.

Javier Hernandez, who recently joined Manchester United this summer from Mexican club CD Guadalajara, popularly known as Chivas, has just returned from South Africa after representing Mexico in the World Cup Football 2010. The 22-year-old striker would join the squad on 27 July in Houston.

Here is the Manchester United squad for the North America tour 2010:

Manchester United Squad

Edwin van der Sar, Tomasz Kuszczak, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov, John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Rafael, Jonny Evans, Darren Fletcher, Darron Gibson, Chris Smalling, Nani, Fabio, Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez (will join in Houston on 27 July), Mame Biram Diouf, Tom Cleverley, Ritchie De Laet, Corry Evans, Ben Amos, Gabriel Obertan.

Though there are some star players Manchester United squad is carrying in North America, a number of high-profile Red Devils stars are missing the tour. Some of them are injured, while some have been rested after returning from international duty.

Manchester United’s biggest star Wayne Rooney has been given rest to get back his full rhythm and fitness by the time next season kicks off. Michael Carrick and Nemanja Vidic, two other Untied’s World Cup players, have also been granted rest.

Captain Gary Neville is recovering from his calf problem picked up during a training session, while center back Rio Ferdenand is busy nursing his injured knee. Midfielder Antonio Valencia is suffering from ankle injury, while Anderson has been ruled out of the tour with a knee problem. Striker Michael Owen is missing the tour with a hamstring injury, while Owen Hargreaves is out of action after picking up a new injury.

Schedule of Manchester United Tour of North America 2010

Manchester United is going to begin their North America tour 2010 with the first match against Scottish giant Celtic being taken place on 16 July at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. The Red Devils would take part in four friendly matches during their three-week tour of North America.

Manchester United would play their second match against MLS side Philadelphia Union at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on 21 July, before facing another MLS team Kansas City Wizards on 25 July at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas. The Red Devils would face MLS All-Stars team in their last match in USA on 28 July at the Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Here is the detailed schedule of the Manchester United’s North America tour 2010:

16 July 2010 - Manchester United vs Celtic – 23:00 GMT; 19:00 (New York); 16:00 (California); 18:00 (CDT) - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada

21 July 2010 - Manchester United vs Philadelphia Union – 23:30 GMT; 19:30 (New York); 16:30 (California); 18:30 (CDT) - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, USA

25 July 2010 - Manchester United vs Kansas City Wizards – 22:00 GMT; 18:00 (New York); 15:00 (California); 17:00 (CDT) - Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas, USA

28 July 2010 - Manchester United vs MLS All-Stars – 00:30 GMT; 20:30 (New York); 17:30 (California); 19:30 (CDT) - Reliant Stadium, Houston, USA

Reports available in the media also suggest that after the MLS All-Stars match, Manchester United would jet off to Guadalajara in Mexico to face Mexican club Chivas in a friendly match. However, the schedule page of the Manchester United official website does not reveal anything about this match.

A number of stars players of Manchester United would not be in this tour. Players like Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick have been rested after the completion of their international duty in the World Cup, while Gary Neville, Anderson, Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves, Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia are recovering from their injuries ahead of the next season.

However, a host of star players including Edwin van der Sar, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov, Nani and John O'Shea have been included in the North America-bound Manchester United squad. New summer signing Chris Smalling would be part of the tour, while another new signing Javier Hernandez would join the squad on 27 July in Houston.

Alex Ferguson: I don't know where those reports about Sneijder came from

There were intense rumors that Manchester United was interested in making a bid for the Dutch international midfielder Wesley Sneijder who currently plays for Inter Milan in Italy. Sir Alex Ferguson has strongly denied the reports and has reacted sharply about it by stating that his squad was very strong this season and did not need Sneijder.

Arjen Robben earlier said that Sneijder would be a very good player for Man United and Robben even stated that Sneijder was a better player thanLionel Messi of Argentina.

Even Inter Milan President Massimo Moratti hinted that there might be some truth to the rumors in the media about this matter. As a result, there were many reports in the media that Manchester United was trying very hard to get the Dutch midfielder.

Ferguson said to Daily Mail, "I believe the squad is stronger than last season with the younger players having another year under their belts.

I don't know where those reports about Sneijder came from. How can anybody turn me down when I haven't even made a bid?"

Well, Manchester United surely needs a quality player like Wesley Sneijder. This Dutch player was in sublime form in the recently concluded World Cup 2010. Although he played in midfield, he scored 5 goals for Holland in South Africa. This shows his world class talent. 

Luka Modric and Gareth Bale to Turn Down Manchester United

Luka Modric and Gareth Bale are all set to refuse Manchester United offers. The Red Devils are reportedly interested to acquire the services of the two Tottenham Hotspur duo who have had immens role behind Tottenham Hotspur’s qualification for next year’s Champions League.

As Tottenham Hotspur will play in Champions League next season, Modric and Bale do not see any need to move to Manchester United where they have to fight with some great players for first team football. They are in excellent form now and naturally they would not like to sit out in the bench, and thus, diminishing their current form.

The two players are reportedly valued at about £50 million together and it is pretty much clear that Manchester United is ready to negotiate with this amount. However, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has reacted very strongly at Manchester United’s interest in the two players by saying that Mordic is a player whom we can not even think of selling.

So, it seems that Sir Alex Ferguson would have to knock a different door to strengthen his squad.

Related article:

Goal.com

Fulham 3 Manchester United 0: can you Believe it?

The match just finished right now. In the end, Fulham won the match against Manchester United by 3-0. Can you really believe it? This is the worst result for United in this season and really, it is unbelievable to me. This wont change anything in the point table because in the next match even if Arsenal wins, Man U will remain in the second spot. On the other hand, Chelsea fans will be delighted with this result as it would only consolidate the position of Chelsea at the top of the table.

Fulham surely deserved this win as they played very well. In the half time, they were leading by 1-0. The goals came: Murphy 22, Zamora 46 and Duff 75

Weldone Fulham and bad news for Manchester United fans. 

UEFA Champions League 2009-10: Manchester United in Group B

In Group B of Champions League 2009-10 the four clubs are:

Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and Wolfsburg

Manchester United may be the defending champion of English premier league, but the Red Devils have not had an impressive start to the season so far. They suffered a shocking away defeat at the hands of newly promoted Burnley in the second game of the season, after a narrow 1-0 win over Birmingham City in the opening game. Even Manchester United was not too much impressive in the first half of the 5-0 win over Wigan Athletic, even though they managed a convincing victory thanks to their excellent second half display.

How well Manchester United would be able to cope up with life without Cristiano Ronaldo was perhaps the biggest concern among the United fans before the start of the season. Well, you might say that making an ordinary start has been a tradition for the Old Trafford camp, as it was seen over the last three seasons, but still the Red Devils ended up winning the league titles. There are many who think that Manchester United would face huge challenge from revamped city rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.

Well, I do not think that time has come to make an evaluation of their performance yet because the season is still in its infancy. To be honest, I do not think that Manchester United has a lot to worry about the absence of Ronaldo because they still have a very balanced squad in the presence of some experienced players like Giggs, Scholes and Neville, besides the youngsters like Rooney, Nani and some others.

One thing you should take into account while considering about United’s poor start to the season is the series of injuries they faced in the start of their season. Specially, their defense line up suffered a lot due to injuries so far, but the good thing is that some of their defenders are coming back to action. Another important thing is that Manchester United is missing the service of veteran goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar who is currently out injured. Overall, Manchester United has not got its full strength yet.

Despite the absence of Ronaldo, I think, midfield is their biggest strength in the presence of the players like Giggs, Scholes, Nani, Michael Carrick, Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher. Actually, their midfield line up looks pretty much balanced. Defense may have been a sore trial for United so far this season, but I do believe that defense would be a very strong side for United when Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic would start playing together in the centre of the defense.

Let us now focus on United’s forward line up. With Ronaldo leaving, Manchester United now needs a change in their formation and it is pretty much certain that Wayne Rooney would now have to take a front seat in their attack. New signing Michael Owen could be a tramp-card for the Red Devils this season because the English striker would try his best to offer for United in his attempt to impress England national team coach Fabio Capello. Dimitar Berbatov would now find more space in the regular time following the departure of Carlos Tevez and Ronaldo. However, young Italian striker Federico Macheda would give a huge challenge to Berbatov and Owen for a regular place in the squad.

No doubt, Manchester United lost some strength with the departure of Ronaldo and Tevez, but it does not mean that the Old Trafford boys lost its fighting spirit and the quality to challenge the big teams. What is more important here is that United is still a very strong side both in England and Europe. It would be a big mistake for the oppositions if they take the Ferguson boys lightly in Champions League this season.

Bharti Airtel in partnership with Manchester United

(This entry was originally uploaded on May 2009.)

Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile operator in India, has had a 5-year content partnership deal signed with English premier league football club Manchester United, which is also the second richest football club in the world. With this deal, Bharti Airtel has now become the first ever Indian investor of Manchester United who are currently world as well as European champion and even English Champion.

Though the amount of the deal has not been disclosed yet, it seems to be a multi-million dollar deal by which Airtel would be able to offer Manchester United related content over mobile phone for its 94 million subscribers across India, Sri Lanka and Seychelles. Well, it seems to be a win-win situation for Bharti Airtel as well as Manchester United.

Popularity of football in India is increasing highly at this moment. In fact, the English premier league is now getting more and more popular among India’s young generation who are highly attracted by seeing some of world’s biggest stars in EPL through live telecast of matches every week in different TV channels. So, Bharti Airtel can now attract India’s young generation more easily by providing them Manchester United related content over phone. In fact, Manchester United is the most popular English club in India with about 12 millions fans. Under this deal, Airtel would organize some competitions for its subscribers and the winners would get the opportunity to attend United’s matches at its home ground Old Trafford as well as in Europe, and there would be an opportunity to be part of Manchester United Soccer School too. All these are pretty much lucrative offers for the football crazy young people in India. So, it is expected that Bharti Airtel might gain a big chunk of market share among India’s young football fans.

Because of global economic downturn, Manchester United has recently found it very difficult to get sponsors. In fact, the club’s long-term sponsor AIG recently expressed their reluctance to extend their contract with Manchester United. So, the deal with Bharti Airtel came as a big relief for the club. Moreover, the club also has some other advantages over the deal. Bharti Airtel has more than 94 million subscribers, and by this deal, this large number of people would now have access to United content over phone. So, this is a good opportunity for Manchester United to increase its fan-base in India, which, by many, is considered to be one of the future destinations of English premier league. Manchester United already has more than 330 million fan base across the world and there is not much room to increase the number in England or in Europe. So, Asia has now become the next target market for European football and from this point of view, Manchester United seems to have signed a very significant deal with Bharti Airtel.

Related article:

The Economic Times