fedwood
14 Nov 2004, 08:29 PM
Bolt for Giggsy
Ryan Giggs' Manchester United future is up in the air - and Bolton are ready to move for him. Giggs, stunned to be axed for last week's Manchester derby, has not sorted out a new contract and is concerned he may be moved out in a cull by Sir Alex Ferguson. That has alerted Sam Allardyce, who has admitted inside The Reebok that he'd go for the wonder winger if he gets encouragement from pal Fergie. The Bolton boss is a huge fan of Giggs and the pair have influential mutual friends. Bolton are also sponsored by Reebok, who would be delighted to see their star client in their strip.
Alan Nixon, The People
Ryan: Why I said no
Ryan Giggs has spoken for the first time about rejecting a contract extension at Manchester United. He said: “I have been offered a one-year extension to my current deal but I turned it down. I was hoping for a longer deal. I want to end my career at United and asked them to reconsider. I hope that they come back to me with a longer deal. For the moment, I’ll just have to wait and see.”
Gary Ward, News of the World
48 hours
Malcolm Glazer has sensationally been given 48 hours to buy Manchester United. He will be set a deadline by the City to mount a full-scale £790million takeover – or walk away from the fight for a year. It is understood that the Takeover Panel will force him to show his hand by Wednesday morning – amid allegations he tried to lean on the United board. Glazer now must declare whether he plans to mount a takeover or not. If he says ‘Yes,’ he could be in control by February. But if he says ‘No’ he can still cause chaos – with chief executive David Gill and finance director Nick Humby firmly in his sights.
James Fletcher, News of the World
Skint
Manchester United may not be for sale as far as the Old Trafford fans are concerned. But manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been warned by his Old Trafford paymasters that he will have to cash in on his current crop of players if he wants to be bankrolled further in the transfer market. United chief executive David Gill said last night: "The bottom line is that we have already spent the entire budget earmarked for next summer on bringing Wayne Rooney to the club a year ahead of our original schedule. We now have 25 players in the first-team squad and that is enough for any club. Whether the manager is happy with the quality is entirely a matter for him. If he isn't, then we will have to reduce numbers before he can bring in new faces.”
Simon Mullock, Sunday Mirror
United in dark over meeting
Manchester United will not commit themselves to peace talks with Arsenal until the FA give them specific assurances about which issues they want to address. There is a deep sense of mistrust inside Old Trafford about the FA’s involvement in their feud with the Gunners, because of Highbury vice-chairman David Dein’s powerful influence at Soho Square. United want guarantees that they are not being summoned to the meeting to be lectured about their conduct.
Simon Mullock, Sunday Mirror
United ring Bel
Manchester United and Arsenal are locked in a fierce battle to sign Turkish star Emre Belozoglu. United have already had preliminary talks with the player’s agent Ahmet Bulut, but the Gunners have also had a long-standing interest in him. Bulut said: “Emre would dearly love to play for United.”
Staff reporter, News of the World
Schwarz in Fergie hint
Mark Schwarzer has opened the door on a move to Manchester United by revealing a pay row is set to force him out of Middlesbrough. Schwarzer’s deal with Boro expires at the end of the season and he said: “This is the biggest decision of my career but it may be best for both parties to move on. It’s flattering to be linked with United but what happens next is up to Boro.”
Staff reporter, News of the World
Red men walking
Sir Alex Ferguson will be faced with a big star sell-off in the summer amid growing speculation that skipper Roy Keane is considering quitting Manchester United. Midfield stars like Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djmeba could be earmarked for departure after so far failing to live up to high expectations, while Louis Saha could also be a valuable asset to raise funds in the clearout. Goalkeeper Ricardo looks like being shown the door too, as United seriously put into place plans to prune their highly-paid playing staff.
Steve Millar, Daily Star Sunday
Ole killing time
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will know in nine months whether his soccer career is finished. He has a date in the first week of August circled in his diary which will become his day of destiny. That’s when the United star will be allowed to kick a ball for the first time following his major knee operation in Gothenburg last August.
Steve Millar, Daily Star Sunday
Lazy Lazio pay up
Manchester United will finally get paid for Jaap Stam – four years after they sold him to Lazio for £16.5million. Chairman Sir Roy Gardner amazingly revealed at the club’s AGM that United had just received another chunk of the transfer fee from the Italians. That now means that Lazio have so far paid only £8m for the Dutch defender sold to them in 2001. The £8.5m balance will finally be wired into United’s bank next May – an announcement by Gardner that brought howls of derision from the floor.
Steve Millar, Daily Star Sunday
Final insult
Roy Carroll last night opened his heart on his battle to become Manchester United’s No.1 keeper. He revealed his hurt of being axed for last season’s FA Cup final, saying: “I was feeling down last year when the manager brought back Tim Howard for the final. But if you don’t feel down there’s something wrong with you. I’ve always just carried on fighting to win back the position. I know I am good enough to be in the team but you can’t afford to start thinking you are going to be picked every week. Nobody can at United.”
James Fletcher, News of the World
We were 24 hours from Roo
Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has revealed for the first time that he was just 24 hours away from landing England superstar Wayne Rooney. Shepherd said: "We genuinely thought we were going to get Wayne Rooney. If Manchester United hadn't responded immediately with a bigger offer I think we would have got him. We were probably just 24 hours away from pulling off the biggest coup in the club's history.”
Brian McNally, Sunday Mirror
Wish Roo were here
Nine children made a 500-mile round trip to see Wayne Rooney ... and were left stranded by their hero. Rooney, who was scheduled to meet the youngsters and give them a coaching session, claimed he was sick - too sick to even pick up the phone and speak to the disappointed kids. The boys and girls - who had won a contest organised by one of Rooney's sponsors, Pringles - had to go back to Surrey from Cheshire without seeing the Manchester United striker.
Steve Bates and Andy Dunn, The People
http://www.manutd.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=125168&itype=466&icategoryid=365
Ryan Giggs' Manchester United future is up in the air - and Bolton are ready to move for him. Giggs, stunned to be axed for last week's Manchester derby, has not sorted out a new contract and is concerned he may be moved out in a cull by Sir Alex Ferguson. That has alerted Sam Allardyce, who has admitted inside The Reebok that he'd go for the wonder winger if he gets encouragement from pal Fergie. The Bolton boss is a huge fan of Giggs and the pair have influential mutual friends. Bolton are also sponsored by Reebok, who would be delighted to see their star client in their strip.
Alan Nixon, The People
Ryan: Why I said no
Ryan Giggs has spoken for the first time about rejecting a contract extension at Manchester United. He said: “I have been offered a one-year extension to my current deal but I turned it down. I was hoping for a longer deal. I want to end my career at United and asked them to reconsider. I hope that they come back to me with a longer deal. For the moment, I’ll just have to wait and see.”
Gary Ward, News of the World
48 hours
Malcolm Glazer has sensationally been given 48 hours to buy Manchester United. He will be set a deadline by the City to mount a full-scale £790million takeover – or walk away from the fight for a year. It is understood that the Takeover Panel will force him to show his hand by Wednesday morning – amid allegations he tried to lean on the United board. Glazer now must declare whether he plans to mount a takeover or not. If he says ‘Yes,’ he could be in control by February. But if he says ‘No’ he can still cause chaos – with chief executive David Gill and finance director Nick Humby firmly in his sights.
James Fletcher, News of the World
Skint
Manchester United may not be for sale as far as the Old Trafford fans are concerned. But manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been warned by his Old Trafford paymasters that he will have to cash in on his current crop of players if he wants to be bankrolled further in the transfer market. United chief executive David Gill said last night: "The bottom line is that we have already spent the entire budget earmarked for next summer on bringing Wayne Rooney to the club a year ahead of our original schedule. We now have 25 players in the first-team squad and that is enough for any club. Whether the manager is happy with the quality is entirely a matter for him. If he isn't, then we will have to reduce numbers before he can bring in new faces.”
Simon Mullock, Sunday Mirror
United in dark over meeting
Manchester United will not commit themselves to peace talks with Arsenal until the FA give them specific assurances about which issues they want to address. There is a deep sense of mistrust inside Old Trafford about the FA’s involvement in their feud with the Gunners, because of Highbury vice-chairman David Dein’s powerful influence at Soho Square. United want guarantees that they are not being summoned to the meeting to be lectured about their conduct.
Simon Mullock, Sunday Mirror
United ring Bel
Manchester United and Arsenal are locked in a fierce battle to sign Turkish star Emre Belozoglu. United have already had preliminary talks with the player’s agent Ahmet Bulut, but the Gunners have also had a long-standing interest in him. Bulut said: “Emre would dearly love to play for United.”
Staff reporter, News of the World
Schwarz in Fergie hint
Mark Schwarzer has opened the door on a move to Manchester United by revealing a pay row is set to force him out of Middlesbrough. Schwarzer’s deal with Boro expires at the end of the season and he said: “This is the biggest decision of my career but it may be best for both parties to move on. It’s flattering to be linked with United but what happens next is up to Boro.”
Staff reporter, News of the World
Red men walking
Sir Alex Ferguson will be faced with a big star sell-off in the summer amid growing speculation that skipper Roy Keane is considering quitting Manchester United. Midfield stars like Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djmeba could be earmarked for departure after so far failing to live up to high expectations, while Louis Saha could also be a valuable asset to raise funds in the clearout. Goalkeeper Ricardo looks like being shown the door too, as United seriously put into place plans to prune their highly-paid playing staff.
Steve Millar, Daily Star Sunday
Ole killing time
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will know in nine months whether his soccer career is finished. He has a date in the first week of August circled in his diary which will become his day of destiny. That’s when the United star will be allowed to kick a ball for the first time following his major knee operation in Gothenburg last August.
Steve Millar, Daily Star Sunday
Lazy Lazio pay up
Manchester United will finally get paid for Jaap Stam – four years after they sold him to Lazio for £16.5million. Chairman Sir Roy Gardner amazingly revealed at the club’s AGM that United had just received another chunk of the transfer fee from the Italians. That now means that Lazio have so far paid only £8m for the Dutch defender sold to them in 2001. The £8.5m balance will finally be wired into United’s bank next May – an announcement by Gardner that brought howls of derision from the floor.
Steve Millar, Daily Star Sunday
Final insult
Roy Carroll last night opened his heart on his battle to become Manchester United’s No.1 keeper. He revealed his hurt of being axed for last season’s FA Cup final, saying: “I was feeling down last year when the manager brought back Tim Howard for the final. But if you don’t feel down there’s something wrong with you. I’ve always just carried on fighting to win back the position. I know I am good enough to be in the team but you can’t afford to start thinking you are going to be picked every week. Nobody can at United.”
James Fletcher, News of the World
We were 24 hours from Roo
Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has revealed for the first time that he was just 24 hours away from landing England superstar Wayne Rooney. Shepherd said: "We genuinely thought we were going to get Wayne Rooney. If Manchester United hadn't responded immediately with a bigger offer I think we would have got him. We were probably just 24 hours away from pulling off the biggest coup in the club's history.”
Brian McNally, Sunday Mirror
Wish Roo were here
Nine children made a 500-mile round trip to see Wayne Rooney ... and were left stranded by their hero. Rooney, who was scheduled to meet the youngsters and give them a coaching session, claimed he was sick - too sick to even pick up the phone and speak to the disappointed kids. The boys and girls - who had won a contest organised by one of Rooney's sponsors, Pringles - had to go back to Surrey from Cheshire without seeing the Manchester United striker.
Steve Bates and Andy Dunn, The People
http://www.manutd.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=125168&itype=466&icategoryid=365