Lindegaard set for Rooney testQUOTE
Anders Lindegaard could take his training-ground rivalry with Wayne Rooney onto the international stage on Wednesday night.
The new United goalkeeper is likely to play for Denmark against England, after keeping clean sheets in his last three starts for the national team - against Czech Republic (0-0), Cyprus (2-0) and Iceland (1-0).
In the last game he didn't start for the Danes, Lindegaard came on for injured Stoke shot-stopper Thomas Sorensen in the first half and kept Portugal at bay for nearly an hour. Denmark were trailing to a Nani double when Anders entered the game, and he was only beaten once, by Cristiano Ronaldo five minutes from the end as Portugal won 3-1.
Now Lindegaard will aim to frustrate Ronaldo's former sidekick Wayne Rooney, the solitary Red in England's squad for the Copenhagen friendly. Meanwhile, only one other home nation will field any United players on Wednesday night - Northern Ireland.
Jonny Evans and his brother Corry, currently on loan at Hull, have been joined in Nigel Worthington's squad to face Scotland by 19 year-old Reds midfielder Oliver Norwood. The latter was a late call-up after three senior players sustained injuries.
Darren Fletcher misses the chance to face his United colleagues after withdrawing from Scotland's party. Assistant manager Peter Houston said, "Darren never misses games so we know he must be injured."
http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features...ooney-test.aspxAnders better just go cool on Wazza and vice versa and come back in one piece!
Giggs plays follow the VidaQUOTE
Gary Neville’s leadership qualities are one of the major losses to United’s dressing room following his retirement last week. But Nemanja Vidic, the man who earlier this season took over the armband from Neville, has seamlessly taken to the role – that’s the view of Ryan Giggs no less.
Vidic has been described as a warrior, a collosus, a player who leads by example, never afraid to put his body on the line for the United cause. While that has always been his style, those qualities are amplified as team captain.
“Taking over the captaincy can sometimes bring out the best in players, and I think it has with Vida,” says the Giggs, himself a leading figure in the dressing room and a player who has played alongside some of United’s most famous captains.
“Some players just go up a notch when they get added responsibility. I’ve seen it happen before with Roy Keane and Eric Cantona,” adds the Welshman. “Vida’s one of the best defenders this club has ever had and he leads by example week in, week out.
“He has been brilliant for us this season. He’s a proper old-school defender and he just loves everything about his job: tackling, battling for possession and heading the ball clear. He’s like Steve Bruce was in the way he puts his body on the line, week after week.”
http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features...aincy-role.aspxChicharito tops pollQUOTE
It may be scant consolation for Javier Hernandez but after losing in the league for the first time with United, the Mexican has won the first ManUtd.com Player of the Month award for 2011.
In one of the closest ever polls on the website, Chicharito gleaned the same percentage as fellow striker Dimitar Berbatov – 45 per cent – but pipped the Bulgarian by just 69 of the total 33,000 votes cast.
Ryan Giggs and Nemanja Vidic were also on ManUtd.com’s shortlist for January, a month in which the Reds picked up 13 league points from a possible 15 and progressed through two rounds of the FA Cup.
Hernandez’s contribution to the cause included two match-winning strikes away to West Brom and Southampton (both 2-1), and two other vital goals - the first against Stoke City (2-1) and the equaliser in United’s dramatic comeback at Blackpool (3-2).
No wonder United players, as well as fans on ManUtd.com, have been queuing up to give the Mexican credit. Darren Fletcher told MUTV recently: “Chicha is a natural goalscorer so when you bring someone on like him, there are always going to be goalscoring opportunities.
“He's still young and improving his game, but he's already got a great eye for goal. He showed great coolness for his goal [against Blackpool] because he'd missed a chance just before that. He didn't let that affect him and that's a sign of a good goalscorer.”
Sir Alex said after the Southampton game: “Hernandez only had one chance and he scored. One chance, one goal is a tremendous ratio. He has great feet in and around the box and gets his shots away quickly.”
This is the second time Hernandez has won ManUtd.com’s monthly award – he also topped the October 2010 poll. Other winners in 2010/11 so far are Paul Scholes (August), Berbatov (September) and Ji-sung Park (November and December).
Javier's your January star
Javier Hernandez was voted Player of the Month for January by ManUtd.com readers. It's the second time he's won the award this season - in that respect he's on level pegging with Ji-sung Park.
2010/11 Players of the Month
August - Paul Scholes
September - Dimitar Berbatov
October - Javier Hernandez
November - Ji-sung Park
December - Ji-sung Park
January - Javier Hernandez
http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features...s-our-poll.aspx» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
This post has been edited by alien2003: Feb 8 2011, 09:59 PM