It was good news for some and bad news for the rest when Gary Neville announced his retirement, with immediate effect, on Wednesday.
Whether you hate him or not you can’t deny that he’s been one of the best, if not the best, English right backs of his generation. His record speaks for itself with 602 appearances, since his debut1992, for Manchester United and 85 caps for England.
During his career at Manchester United Neville picked up eight Premier League winners medals, one Champions League medal and three FA Cup medals.
He has been a United fan all his life and was part of famous 1992 FA Youth Cup winners side which included David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt.

It’s now rumoured that he will either take over from Andy Gray on Sky Sports or taking a coaching role at Manchester United. If he was to front Sky Sports I think that Sky might lose a lot viewers!!

All the best Gary you’re a United legend.

Following my recent post about the reds suffering injury setbacks, it is now reported that two United favourites Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney are coming on well after starting training again. Giggs started training again on Thursday while Wayne Rooney has returned from his holiday in Dubai and started general running work with the physios.

Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested that Giggsy may make the Manchester derby while Rooney is progressing well but may be sidelined for another 3 weeks.

City fans beware. Fergie has a habit of unleashing his stars for the big games and could be playing mind games and hiding the fact that his two stars are closer to full fitness than he is suggesting.

Manchester United, recently boosted by the signature of Wayne Rooney’s new contract have suffered two injury setbacks. Firstly it has been confirmed by Sir Alex Ferguson that Michael Owen will be out for 4-5 weeks with a hamstring injury and then it was confirmed that although Rooney was thought to be sidelined for 3 weeks, it may now be a more lengthy period of time, with Fergie claiming it’s all about rest now.

Luckily for the reds, Carlos Tevez is back in Argentina recovering from an injury and is doubtful for both this weeks Premier League match with Wolves and next weekends game with West Brom . I think that both Tevez and Rooney will manage to shake of their injuries in time for the Manchester derby in November. What a mouth watering prospect that game will be if both teams are full strength.

Premier league football team Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez is fast proving his worth as a top class talent and a formidable front man for the reds. It’s far too early to call him a legend barring what was said in the football podcast. Wayne Rooney’s not a United legend yet (especially after his contract spat last week), but Hernandez has stepped up and helped the team over a difficult fortnight with 3 goals in his last 2 games. First was the game against Stoke at the weekend where his aerial ability and vision to position himself in the right place to grab his brace has been hailed as top class by pundits across the national press. Some past masters of the game have been saying that the ‘Little Pea’ or Chicharito as he’s known to the Old Trafford faithful looks like a football bargain buy. He has pace, ability, and eye for goal and he know the English language very well. See the football podcast where Sir Alex said in his post match interview with Sky Sports last night that he’s the first one on the training ground and the last one off. After his cameo appearance last night against Wolves in the Carling Cup (League Cup) it appears that the hard work is beginning to pay off.

His goal mouth heroics are only just beginning, but I see strong likenesses to Ole Solskjaer. He’s a player who gets in the right place at the right time.

With 6 goals already this season, Hernandez seems destined to be far more than a super sub.

I’m a Manchester United Fan, and I don’t mind admitting that I’m one of the few who don’t mind Manchester City doing well…OK…reasonably well. I think it’s been absolutely fantastic to actually have a rivalry between the 2 clubs this season. I’ve grown up with a divided family where my Mum and my brother support City, and my Dad and myself follow the mighty reds. Derby games have been a bit boring over recent years, when City were battling to survive in the Premiership and United were challenging for all the major honours. Our biggest games were always against Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea respectively.

This year however, I doubt you’ll get a better atmosphere anywhere than at Old Trafford for the Carling Cup semi final, when Wayne Rooney bagged another late winner to sink Mancini and his men. The new City boss kind of set himself up for a fall by saying that at the end of this season, the famous rotating banner at the Stretford end indicating the number of years since City last won a major trophy (currently 34 years) would have to come down, as City were pushing for Carling Cup and FA Cup glory.

Roll on a few months, and déjà vu seems to be happening. We’re two thirds through the season, and City are out of every competition they realistically had a chance of winning. I’ve got loads of bitter blue mates, and I even refrained from sending a text to one of my closest mates last night saying “35 years, Ha!”. He sends me countless text messages every time United are knocked out of a cup, or Europe, or even lose a league game. The one thing I’d like to think is that most United fans are above the ridiculing and gloating. I’m a season ticket holder and prefer to let our team and our results do the talking, I don’t gloat (that often). But for City fans, it will be 35 years at the end of the season since your team last won a trophy. This may change soon, but I think Mancini was a bit premature with his statement.

The Stretford Enders will soon be singing:

In ‘76, now this is true, a trophy was won by the team in blue

Its been a long time, since that day

So we’ll sing em a song that they f***ing HATE

35 years, f**k all, 35 years, f**k all…

Sorry City fans, maybe I just had to gloat a little bit.

Wayne Rooney continues to be in ‘devastating’ form according to Sir Alex Ferguson, following Manchester United’s first ever win at the San Siro in Italy on Tuesday night.

Rooney is now tipped to pass 30 goals this season, having already notched up 25 following his brace against Milan in the second half of the UEFA Champions League last 16 knockout stage. United won the game 3-2 after going a goal down to a deflected Ronaldinho effort early on. The red devils weathered the storm in the first half before a moment of luck levelled matters before the break when Paul Scholes scored with a miss kick – the ball coming off his standing leg and trickling past the stranded Dida.

Rooney then dazzled with 2 goals to put United 3-1 up, before Clarence Seedorf pulled one back with 5 minutes to go. Michael Carrick was sent off for kicking the ball away on David Beckham’s first game against his former club. The second leg is played in just under 3 weeks time.

Another weekend, another 3 points for Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. The Premier League 2009-2010 season now seems like it will be a two horse race between champions United and ex champions Chelsea. Both teams have brushed Arsenal aside with ease over the last week, and surely have the strength and depth in their squads to maintain title bids, whereas the floundering Arsenal, without their main striker Robin Van Persie, look decidedly weak.

Watching the game on Sky Sports yesterday, there was a comment that Arsenal WERE dangerous last season with their formidable partnership between Van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor, now of Manchester City. They brushed aside AC Milan in the Champions League, and were a team that were nearly perfect, bar maybe 1 or 2 signings. Bring on the summer transfer window at the start of the season and what did they do? That’s right, they sold Adebayor and didn’t recruit anyone as a worthy replacement.

Arsene Wenger is a great manager, but I still feel that he has a stubborn streak that is leaving his side a little short when it comes to challenging for the Premier League crown. Hopefully my words won’t come back an haunt me.

So who will win the league this year? My bet in on the winner of the Manchester United vs Chelsea game at Old Trafford on 3rd April this year.

Sir Alex Ferguson, has challanged Owen Hargreaves to be fit and ready for the Champions League showdown with AC Milan in February. The Milan game comes in just 12 days time, and after all the injuries the reds have suffered this season, Hargreaves will be welcome return to the team who have lacked a defensive midfield player all season. Hargreaves has been out of action for some time with operations on both knees to try and fix a long term problem.

Darren Fletcher has been fantastic this term and is one of the regulars on Fergie’s team sheet when it comes to big games. Hargreaves, many feel is in the same mould when it comes to big games; remember he was England’s best player at the last World Cup against Portugal, and his tireless effort helped Manchester United lift the Champions League (European Cup) in 2008. Hargreaves has been given the target of a full week’s training to guarantee himself a place in the squad for Feb 16th.

Fergie said:

I would like to seem him make the squad for the Champions League fixtures against AC Milan, but we won’t rush him. We are being patient with the rehabilitation following his knee operations and he is alternating his training with the reserve and first-team squads, working for two days and then resting a day

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has just hit 100 Premier League goals. The United hit man reached the landmark against Arsenal on Sunday and could (and should) go on to hit another 100 if he stays at United for the rest of his career, as he has stated many times before.

There are rumours that Barcelona and Real Madrid are lining up £70million plus bids for the striker. But Rooney has stood firm and said that he plans on staying at Old Trafford. Rooney is in scintillating form after his 4 goal haul against Hull followed by the derby crushing of Manchester City in the Carling Cup and his goal at the Emirates against Arsenal at the weekend. Sir Alex Ferguson has set Rooney a target of 30 goals this season. By the looks of it he will be nearer 40 if he continues in such a rich vain of form until the end of the 2010 campaign.