if its Amos who start, then we know PIG's fate is sealed

guys...FA Cup game malam ni ke malam esok?

Manchester United Street Talks, 01/12 West Ham v Man Utd | 03:40 CH817

Ben Amos will be hoping to earn another rare start against West Ham this evening in the Carling Cup. He’s been talking to us about what it’s like being a young goalkeeper carving out a career at a top club…

How do you stay focused every day when you’re not playing all the time?
There’s only one position and we train a lot, training everyday without playing is difficult, but you’ve just got to keep yourself motivated and make sure you’re ready and available when you’re needed. Every year I set a target, and the next game is always a target for me. They don’t come round too often being the number three keeper, so I’ve just got to make sure I’m ready and I’m peaking when those games come around.

You have to be patient, then…
The patience helps when you know goalkeepers have a longer career; look at Edwin and how he’s still playing now. The temptation is to look around you at players that are 17 and 18 and they’re playing. Kiko Macheda is a year younger than me and he’s involved a lot more at the moment, so the temptation is to get a bit frustrated. But you’ve got to take everything in context and, with the position that I play in, that’s the reason why I’m not playing.

Edwin van der Sar is double your age. He’s old enough to be your dad, but what’s it like training with someone as experienced as he is?
I’ve said a few times that it is a little bit like training with your dad, yeah. I don’t think he’ll appreciate that, but he’s great. I’m chewing at his ear all the time, trying to get bits of advice. He’s very open and he says what he thinks, so it’s great.

Who were your goalkeeping idols growing up?
When I was growing up Schmeichel was playing, so he’s a big icon, a goalkeeping icon. He’s a good role model because of his presence. That was something that really struck home with me, how he was as a person on the pitch. I’d probably say him. I was Man United mad, so I didn’t really look to any other teams or anything, it was just all about United.

You played in the last round at Old Trafford. Was it easier playing in front of a home crowd compared to, say tonight, when you’re at an away ground?
I don’t think about it that way. Any game in the first team is a game in the first team, so that’s how I approach it. Whether it’s Old Trafford or not, it’s not really an issue. The atmosphere is something you’ve got to handle. I can’t see it being a problem to me personally at all, and especially not to the other players, the experienced players - they deal with it every week. It’ll be a lively crowd, their stands are close to the pitch and it’s a really tight ground, but it won’t be a problem.

Being a local lad, any time you play for the first-team must be a proud moment?
It is, especially as I’ve supported the club since I knew about football. But when you’re here every day, you don’t really think about it too much. You’re used to it and you’re in there doing well and you just see yourself as one of the team.

Ben Amos was speaking to ManUtd.com, PA Sport, Key 103 and BBC Radio Manchester.

Former Red Nicky Butt is in Hong Kong weighing up an offer to come out of retirement and sign a three-month contract with South China FC. We spoke to the Treble-winning midfielder as he prepared for a trial game on Tuesday...

What have you been doing so far in Hong Kong?
I flew out on Sunday, arrived on Monday and had a rest in the afternoon, then went training and met the rest of the team and manager. I went for a meal with [South China chairman] Steven Lo and his wife on Monday night to say hello and have a chat, and now I’m looking forward to the first game.

How was your first training session?
It was good, and pretty tough for the day before a game! We had an hour-and-a-half session, it was sharp and the lads were all buzzing. Personally I felt OK – a bit rusty, but that’s what I expected in my first session.

What are your impressions of the city so far?
It’s a vibrant place with skyscrapers everywhere and a real energy. The people are very warm and courteous everywhere you go, so it seems like it’ll be a great place for me to come and spend a bit of time. United are well supported out here so people know and remember me. A lot have come out to see me and speak to me at training and even outside the hotel, which is quite humbling.

Have you made up your mind about signing a contract?
I still have to think about it. The contract talks will be done at the end of the week, so at the minute it’s just a case of working out whether it’s feasible for me to be here, and once I’ve made that decision, I can discuss the details. At the minute it’s all good and after the game we can start talking properly.

What’s next for you after the game?
I’ll have another meeting with Steven on Wednesday, and the contract talks will start in the afternoon. Then we have a training session on Thursday and I head home again in the early hours of Friday morning. It’s all go – every minute of the day there’s something going on – but I’m enjoying it and I’ll make a decision at the end of the week.

Avram Grant does not believe that Manchester United can go the entire 2010/11 campaign unbeaten.

The Red Devils are on course to achieve such a feat at present, with impressive progress made in the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and Carling Cup.

They moved to the top of the table with a 7-1 demolition of Blackburn on Saturday, the first time they have occupied such a lofty standing this season.

Next up for Sir Alex Ferguson's men is a cup date with West Ham on Tuesday, with a place in the Carling Cup semi-finals up for grabs.

The Hammers are not expected to be the ones to put the first blemish on United's copybook, but will be doing all they can to spring a surprise.

Manager Grant accepts his men are set to go head-to-head with a class act in midweek, but admits he would be surprised if the Red Devils were to replicate Arsenal's heroics of 2003/04 when they negotiated an entire Premier League campaign without suffering a single defeat.

"It has happened before with Arsenal, but I don't think it will [again]," said the Israeli.

"What happened with Arsenal was exceptional. I don't believe there is a team which can last all the season without losing."

Clever

He added: "When I was at Chelsea, Alex [Ferguson] described that season as the best season ever - but even then they did not start so well.

"You don't need to be at your best in the first few months, but at the end of the season.

"Alex is very clever. He does it every year. I can't remember one season when United started with full power."

While United are expected to shuffle their pack on Tuesday, as they look to keep key men fresh, Grant admits he will be taking the competition seriously.

He will have certain individuals unavailable through injury, as has been the case all season, but is confident that he can field a competitive side at Upton Park.

"Many of the players we have in the squad this season have had long-term injuries, so we have to manage them differently," Grant said.

"We are doing all we can so they can play, sometimes we succeed, sometimes not.

"It is not very often that West Ham comes to a quarter-final of any competition, so we will try to win this game."

...what la you.this cup is a stepping stone for the youths la.look back at all these years, we rarely go full force in carling cup in the spiruit of giving youths a platform to develop, a chance to play the game at the highest level and a chance for them to prove themself.you really want to take that away from that??

wooohh..just see the thread titile.. we won 4-0 yeayyyy 

Sir Alex Ferguson was as shell-shocked as anyone after United's surprise 4-0 Carling Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of West Ham on Tuesday. But the boss prefers to think it will impact positively, rather than negatively, on the young players involved.

"I didn't expect that, that's for sure," Sir Alex told MUTV. "But if you analyse why we've lost, the goals we've given away were too soft. You just can't give goals away like that at this level."

United's defence contained a 20-year-old (Fabio), a 21-year-old (Chris Smalling), and a 22-year-old (Jonny Evans), and Sir Alex believes they were given a lesson they won't ever forget.

"They're all young players," he sais. "We've invested in youth, we've done that well over the years, and they will come on from this. They will remember tonight. It's unfortunate that it was a quarter-final of the cup and we had a good opportunity of winning it again this year."

United had started promisingly enough in both halves, but soon succumbed to West Ham's more physical and cohesive team play. Strangely enough, it was a disallowed goal in the first half that appeared to turn the game in the Hammers' favour.

"Possession-wise we had had the majority of it and we had one or two half-chances and one good opportunity when Obertan's shot was turned onto the post. That was unlucky," added the boss. "We were in control of it early in the match and played some good football. I think what changed the game was getting the goal disallowed. It was a break for them. It got the crowd up. But the goals we conceded were poor, and some of our players were too young to carry those mistakes and still win the match."

Ryan Giggs bemoaned United’s bad luck after the Reds slumped to a 4-0 defeat against West Ham in the Carling Cup fifth round.

Sir Alex’s men began the match brightly and Gabriel Obertan had a shot pushed onto the post by Robert Green after only six minutes. The incident left Giggs pondering what might have been had the England goalkeeper not displayed such sharp reactions.

“Things could have been different had that shot from Gabby gone in,” Ryan told MUTV. “We started the game pretty well but that shot didn’t fall for us – it hit the post. Then West Ham scored shortly afterwards and that knocked the stuffing out of us.

The home side went on to score another three times and turned in the sort of performance that made observers scratch their heads and wonder if the Barclays Premier League table had been printed upside down in the matchday programme.

But Giggs, who turned 37 this week, says United always knew bottom-of-the-table West Ham would provide stiff competition.

“Whenever you come to West Ham, no matter how they’re doing, it’s always a tough game and they always want to beat us,” he said.

“Even though they’re not doing so well in the league, the crowd get behind them and Upton Park is always a tough place to get a result.

“It was disappointing to lose 4-0, though. We came here confident we could win the game.

“West Ham played well – you have to give them credit – and they scored some good goals, but we feel we could have defended those goals a lot better.”

The defeat was United’s first since April – a run of 29 games in all competitions – and an alien experience for summer signings Chris Smalling, Bebe and Javier Hernandez. But losing is part of football – even at Manchester United – and Giggs is confident that, in time, the result at West Ham will help the Reds’ youngsters.

“Disappointment can help you. It doesn’t feel good at the moment but hopefully the young players who have experienced this can learn from it. Next time they’re playing they’ll be determined to improve their performance and get a better result.

“We’re Manchester United and we have to rise above [disappointment]. You have to carry on, keep playing your football and not let your head drop.”

UNITED AHEAD OF THE GAME

Hello Mr Martin. Really doing this work weekly is so exhausting and may be boring, but really interesting to read these stats. I have a simple question to ask you. I have been researching widely about the head-to-head of all Premier League teams against Manchester United. Could you tell me if there is any English team which has won the most against United at the head-to-head in the Premier League?

Kind Regards, Sherif Magued (Manchester Utd fan)

MARTIN SAYS: Our friends at Opta have detailed Manchester United's head-to head record against all of the other 43 teams to have played in the Premier League. Unsurprisingly, United have more wins than their opponents in 41 of these head to heads.

The only team to have enjoyed more wins than losses against United in the Premier League era is Chelsea. The Blues have won 12 of their 36 meetings, while United have won 10 times.

One side has won as many as they have lost - and that team is Burnley. The Clarets have only played United twice in the Premier League era, winning one and losing the other!

As you can see from the table below, United have a win record of 50% or better against every Premier League team, apart from Chelsea and Arsenal. They also boast 100% records against six teams - Barnsley, Bradford, Hull, Stoke, Watford and Wigan. This truly is an amazing set of statistics for a team that has played in every Premier League season.

United's head-to head record against each team in the Premier League (win percentage in brackets):

Chelsea: P36 W10 D14 L12 (27.8%)
Arsenal: P36 W15 D11 L10 (41.7%)
Burnley: P2W1 D0 L1 (50.0%)
Ipswich Town: P10 W5 D3 L2 (50.0%)
Reading: P4 W2 D2 L0 (50.0%)
Swindon Town: P2 W1 D1 L0 (50.0%)
Liverpool: P37 W20 D7 L10 (54.1%)
Leeds United: P24 W13 D7 L4 (54.2%)
Sheffield Wednesday: P16 W9 D4 L3 (56.3%)
Derby County: P14 W8 D4 L2 (57.1%)
Middlesbrough: P28 W16 D7 L5 (57.1%)
Blackburn Rovers: P33 W19 D9 L5 (57.6%)
Manchester City: P27 W16 D6 L5 (59.3%)
Newcastle United: P33 W20 D10 L3 (60.6%)
Fulham: P19 W12 D4 L3 (63.2%)
West Ham: P31 W20 D7 L4 (64.5%)
Aston Villa: P37 W24 D10 L3 (64.9%)
Bolton Wanderers: P23 W15 D5 L3 (65.2%)
Sunderland: P19 W13 D5 L1(68.4%)
Leicester City: P16 W11 D4 L1 (68.8%)
Wimbledon: P16 W11 D3 L2 (68.8%)
Nottingham Forest: P10 W7 D2 L1 (70.0%)
Portsmouth: P14 W10 D1 L3 (71.4%)
Everton:P37 W27 D6L4 (73.0%)
Tottenham Hotspur: P37 W27 D7 L3 (73.0%)
Southampton: P26 W19 D2 L5 (73.1%)
Birmingham City: P12 W9 D3 L0 (75.0%)
Crystal Palace: P8 W6 D2 L0 (75.0%)
Norwich City: P8 W6D1 L1 (75.0%)
Oldham Athletic:P4 W3 D0 L1 (75.0%)
Queens Park Rangers: P8 W6 D2 L0 (75.0%)
West Bromwich Albion: P9 W7 D2 L0 (77.8%)
Wolverhampton Wanderers: P5 W4 D0 L1 (80.0%)
Sheffield United: P6 W5 D0 L1 (83.3%)
Charlton Athletic: P16 14 D2 L0 (87.5%)
Coventry City: P18 W16 D1 L1 (88.9%)
Barnsley: P2W2D0 L0 (100.0%)
Bradford City: P4 W4 D0 L0 (100.0%)
Hull City: P4 W4 D0 L0(100.0%)
Stoke City: P5 W5 D0 L0 Win percentage: (100.0%)
Watford: P4 W4 D0 L0 (100.0%)
Wigan Athletic: P11 W11 D0 L0 (100.0%)

oh my, England crashed out in the first round of 2018 bid

Becks had tears in his eyes...I really pity the England's team at Zurich...all heartbroken, and rumour has it they were knocked out in the first round of bid and was placed last

1549: England bid ambassador and BBC presenter Gary Lineker has confirmed that England were knocked out in the first round of voting. They came fourth out of four. I'm stunned.

er?
whats dat?

United's attacking ranks are set to be bolstered for the busy festive period by the return of Michael Owen.

The Reds' number seven has been out of action since October but Sir Alex Ferguson says the striker is now back in full training and edging closer to a comeback.

The boss told MUTV on Friday: "Michael Owen's training now, he's doing very well. He took part in the football side of it yesterday but I would say he's two weeks away [from playing]. We need to make sure he does a good stint of football training before we bring him into the games."

Sadly, news on the other Owen - Hargreaves - isn't as promising at the moment.

"Owen Hargreaves is still  recovering from his hamstring injury, unfortunately," said Sir Alex. "It's a bad blow for the lad and it's hard to take, given the length of time he's been out and the amount of football he's missed."

As for Saturday's trip to Blackpool, the manager reported no new injuries in his interview with MUTV but he said he would monitor one of his senior midfielders before selecting his 18-man squad.

"Paul Scholes is going to train today, we'll see what he's like," he added.

Redknapp: Keane can leave in January

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has revealed that Robbie Keane will be allowed to leave the club in January, with Aston Villa and new MLS franchise Vancouver Whitecaps thought to be leading the hunt for his signature.



what u guys think?
if he comes cheap why not addition to our squad since owen is always injured anyway.

I think we need to be careful though. The next home game for Chelsea is us. Let us do better than Sunderland at their turf 

So, where are we standing? Second or first?

Lol you are absolutely right!I'm not the only one who notices that 

Congrats man,MU is still 2nd,in a neutral's point of view,I can't see Arsenal beating you guys

do u guys know when the match vs. blackpool gonna be play??

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville is set to follow Edwin van der Sar into retirement at the end of the season - marking the end of an era at Old Trafford.

Neville, 35, is unlikely to be offered a new deal after being restricted by injury to just three first-team appearances this season.

While Ryan Giggs, who celebrated his 37th birthday last week, and Paul Scholes are enjoying an Indian summer in their careers, Neville’s body is letting him down.

All three are on one-year deals that expire at the end of the season and manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: ‘Ryan is unbelievable at 37. His fitness has not changed.

‘It is different with Gary. We will have to assess him. He has an injury again and it is difficult when you get injuries all the time in your 30s. That is the advantage Ryan has over Gary.’

Neville’s 601 club games puts him fifth on United’s all-time appearances list.

Sheasy's failed attempt of copying Fabio's kick

Sir Alex Ferguson has dashed Steve Bruce's hopes of capturing Danny Welbeck permanently.

The Manchester United striker, 20, is on a season-long loan at Sunderland and is currently in top form, netting four goals in his last three games.

Black Cats boss Bruce has made no secret that he would like to make Welbeck's switch permanent, although he has conceded there is little chance of succeeding in this aim.

And Ferguson, who has been impressed with the striker's form on Wearside, insists he wants him back at the end of the season.

Doing brilliantly

He told The People: "He's doing brilliantly and he comes back to us at the end of his loan.

"The boy is a fantastic talent but the problem for Danny was that he wasn't getting enough football.

"You had to go back to our youth games, two-and-a-half years ago, for the last time he played more than four games in a row. He also had problems in growing, in terms of his strength.

"He missed a lot of football because of that. I said that to him last season when I sent him to Preston on loan.

Knee operation

"Then he got injured and had to have a knee operation. That could have been down to a lack of strength in his thigh and knee area.

"But the strength is starting to come now. His physique is settled now and he's starting to put on muscle.

"He's a big, big lad - 6ft 2ins or 6ft 3ins. He played well against Chelsea and Everton."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hoping to put his Manchester United links to good use and land Magnus Eikrem.

The former Old Trafford favourite parted company with the Red Devils earlier in the season to take charge at Norwegian outfit Molde.

Solskjaer opted to head home in order to cut his managerial teeth, having held a coaching role at United since 2008.

He has wasted no time in evaluating his new squad and feels there are a few minor tweaks he could make.

One of the areas he is keen to strengthen is his midfield and, having worked with United's youngsters over recent years, he feels Eikrem could be an ideal recruit.

The 20-year-old is set to be out of contract at the end of the season and Solskjaer admits he would have no hesitation in offering him a deal were United to let him go.

Interesting

"I hope he will have a long and successful career in Manchester," Solskjaer told Romsdals Budstikke.

"I have worked with him for two years and he is a great lad. If he does not get a new offer, he is an interesting player for us."

Eikrem admits he is unsure as to what his future will hold, with no discussions held as yet with United regarding an extension.

"I don't know what will happen," he said.

"I am a United player right now and I would like to stay longer. I hope they want to keep me, meaning I will then stay here."

United's squad is looking healthy in terms of numbers ahead of Tuesday's Champions League Group C decider against Valencia and a busy festive period.

Sir Alex Ferguson watched over a 26-man training squad at a frosty Carrington on Monday morning, but he will have been warmed by the sight of so many players being put through their paces.

Wes Brown, Jonny Evans and Owen Hargreaves (who is ineligible for European competition anyway) were the main absentees from the session, while Patrice Evra and Paul Scholes did some running away from the main group. Otherwise Sir Alex has a strong group of players to pick from against Valencia and, having missed out at the weekend due to Saturday's postponed clash with Blackpool, everyone will be keen to play.

Both teams have already qualified for the knockout stages but United, three points ahead of the Spaniards at the top of Group C, need just a point to go through as group winners.

Any victory would take Los Che through as table-toppers (a 1-0 win and they go through on goal difference, while any other victory takes them through on head-to-head results with United).

Training squad on Monday morning: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Amos; Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, O'Shea, Smalling, Rafael, Fabio; Nani, Giggs, Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson, Gibson, Scholes, Park, Obertan, Bebe; Rooney, Berbatov, Owen, Chicharito, Macheda.

Edwin van der Sar is keen to see United secure top spot in Champions League Group C on Tuesday night.

The Reds welcome Valencia to Old Trafford for the final group match knowing that anything other than a defeat will be enough to advance to the knockout stages as group winners and, consequently, avoid the other groups' winners in the last 16.

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, plus United’s conquerors last season, Bayern Munich, have already secured top spot in their respective groups and van der Sar is fully aware of the importance of steering clear of Europe’s elite.

“We may be through now but we want to get to first spot to avoid any of the big teams in the earlier rounds. That’s what we need to do on Tuesday,” said the Dutchman.

United have yet to concede a goal in this season’s Champions League and will become the first side to do so throughout an entire group stage if they manage to keep a clean sheet against Valencia.

Van der Sar, responsible for three of the five clean sheets this term, is naturally pleased with the record, however he's aware there are much tougher challenges to come for the Reds.

“When you start playing a higher standard of opposition it’s going to get difficult,” he said.

“So far we haven’t played against the biggest teams in the Champions League so that’s maybe got something to do with it.”

Manchester United striker Michael Owen will not face Valencia despite his return to full training ahead of the final Champions League group match.

A hamstring injury has kept Owen out since 2 October, but reports suggested he could make the bench on Tuesday.

But United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "He has no chance of being involved.

"He returned to training last week but we are going to make sure he gets two more weeks behind him. We don't want to take any risks."

Midfielder Paul Scholes trained separately as he returns from a groin problem, while centre-back Jonny Evans was absent.

United are in the last 16 but need a point to secure top spot in the group.

"We may be through now but we want to get to first spot to avoid any of the big teams in the earlier rounds," said United keeper Edwin van der Sar.

United lead Valencia by three points in the group and beat them 1-0 when the two teams played in the reverse fixture.

But the Spanish side have a better goal difference and can overtake the Old Trafford side with a win.

Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has travelled to Munich to have treatment on a hamstring injury.

The 29-year-old tore his hamstring against Wolves last month, in his first start since 2008 after two operations to cure chronic knee problems.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says the club aim to get Hargreaves back to a level where he can still play football.

Ferguson also played down fears the player's career may be over, saying the England international must "fight it".

Hargreaves lasted only six minutes of his return game against Wolves at Old Trafford on 6 November, before limping off clutching his hamstring.

United initially suggested he could miss five weeks, with Ferguson saying the injury could be partly down to anxiety over his return as well as a lack of match practice.

The Canadian-born midfielder, who has made only 39 appearances since joining the Red Devils from Bayern Munich in 2007, had played 45 minutes with the reserves and less than 60 seconds of first-team football prior to the game against Wolves.

His previous game of any significance was at Chelsea in September two years ago.

England's best player at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany has been plagued by knee injuries for two years, undergoing surgery - performed by famed surgeon Dr Richard Steadman - and seeing numerous attempts at a return hampered by pain and tendonitis.

Hargreaves is in the final year of his contract at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson has his sights firmly set on Manchester United winning their UEFA Champions League group.

The United chief acknowledges that the last thing he would want in the first knockout phase is to be paired with somebody like Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, who knocked them out of the competition last season.

As such the only way to guarantee not playing clubs such as Barca or Real is to finish top of their group.

United face Valencia on Tuesday evening and Ferguson will be fielding his full strength side in order try and seal top spot.

"The sensible approach is to try to avoid the bigger hitters like Real, Barca and Bayern Munich, the teams who are No.1 in their groups at the moment," said Ferguson.

"We can only do that if we do finish first in our group and that is what we want to do."

Break

With no game at the weekend as their match with Blackpool was postponed, Ferguson admits his side are ready for action.

"I think the players need the Valencia game," said Ferguson.

"They haven't played for 10 days. I will play my strongest side and then we have six days to prepare for the Arsenal game.

"But we're going to concentrate on Valencia first. Our history against them has always been one of very, very tough games, always tight. And I think it will be that case again this time."