Smalling and Jones vs Spain...

P/S: Smalling if fecking immense in that match...

I can see a future here...

zomg hahahahahahaha deja vu all over agian...just as expected some1 cracked again and all jumped on the wagon together

anyway,......


Twitter abuse for departing Blackburn Rovers defender Phil Jones
LuLz

Manchester United winger Nani has said that he harbours the ambition of playing under Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho one day.

While Nani claimed that he was happy at Old Trafford for the time being, he admitted that he was pleased to hear that other clubs were interested in him and that he would love to play under his fellow countryman.

"I am fine at Manchester United, but it is good to hear there are other clubs interested," Nani said at a recent youth tournament in Seixal. ''Would I like to work under Mourinho? Yes, but at this moment I am fine at Manchester United. It was a very positive season for Manchester United, and my best individual campaign.''

With Ashley Young due to arrive at Old Trafford in a £16 million deal next week, speculation has continued over the Portuguese winger's future. Nani scored 10 goals and had 18 assists this season and was voted by his team-mates as the Player of the Year for United.

Manchester United have confirmed the capture of England Under-21 defender Phil Jones on a five-year deal after agreeing an undisclosed fee with Blackburn Rovers.

United thought they had secured Jones' services last week, only for the transfer to be halted due to an unforeseen snag. It was claimed Blackburn were holding out for more cash and that Liverpool had jumped in with a superior offer.

However, Jones, who featured for England Under-21s in their opening European Championship match against Spain in Denmark, apparently told Rovers he did not wish to join any club but United and the deal is now in place.

''Manchester United is delighted to announce it has signed an agreement with Blackburn Rovers for the transfer of Phil Jones," a United statement read. "The player passed a medical in Manchester last week and has agreed a five-year contract. The deal will be completed once the player returns from international duty."

A Blackburn statement, released on behalf of the owners, board and manager, on the club's official site read: "Much as we would love him to stay on with us - and we made all efforts to convince him to stay - Phil has to finally follow his heart. We are extremely happy with his contribution to our team and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavours."

It appears the breakthrough may have come after United agreed to up their offer as Rovers boss Steve Kean has told Sky Sports News that the deal is higher than the £16.5 million United originally offered.

"Contracts are very complicated but with the games that he will play and with different bits and bobs that will be added on it will go above £20 million, so it's a very, very big fee," Kean said.

Nonetheless, Kean revealed Blackburn had offered to make Jones the highest paid player at the club had he stayed at Ewood Park and is disappointed the player made the decision to move on.

"The offer we made he was staggering for a 19-year-old, but it wasn't the money," Kean said. "Phil wants to play Champions League football now and we're not at that level.

"I'm sure we will be in the coming years, and we gave it a real good try and made him a fantastic offer, but I understand why he wants to go now. He goes with our blessing and it's an opportunity for us to invest in other young players across other areas of the pitch.

"We were hoping he was going to be captain of our club and captain of England. He's a fantastic prospect and I'm sure he'll be an England regular very soon.''

United are also hoping to complete the signing of Spain Under-21 goalkeeper David de Gea, who produced an excellent performance when he featured against Jones in Sunday's game.

However, it is also anticipated Sir Alex Ferguson will land Ashley Young first, once Aston Villa have sorted out their managerial vacancy, and a replacement is also anticipated for Paul Scholes, who confirmed his retirement last month.

Paul Scholes has rejected the theory there was any malice behind his infamous tackling technique.

The recently-retired Manchester United midfielder is widely acknowledged to be one of the best players of his generation. Zinedine Zidane, Xavi and Edgar Davids are among those who have claimed Scholes was the English player they would have most liked to star alongside.

However, along with the huge talent that propelled him to 10 Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph in 1999 came occasional haphazard challenges that bordered on the reckless.

Although overall, he was hugely complimentary, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claimed Scholes had a ''dark side''.

And following the final red card of his career, for a thigh-high challenge on Pablo Zabaleta in United's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City at Wembley in April, even Sir Alex Ferguson admitted ''the red mist sometimes descends'' on the 36-year-old.

Yet Scholes, whose 90 yellow cards make him the third most booked player in Premier League history, feels his reputation is unwarranted.

''I have just been unlucky,'' he said. ''I never had red mist against anybody. The one against Zabaleta, I didn't do on purpose. It was just bad timing. The ball was up there and the way your leg goes it has to come down and unfortunately it came down on his leg.

''I would never intentionally try to hurt somebody. Nobody has ever had to go off following one of my tackles and nobody has broken their leg. I have never been nasty.''

Scholes has also explain his reasons, pointing out that it was his body, rather than frustration at being used so sparingly, that led to his decision.

''I knew it was the right time to happen,'' he said. ''You can't go on forever. It's all done now and I am looking towards the future. There wasn't one moment in particular. There were a few games later in the season where I didn't feel great, and in training as well. In general it was the way I felt.

''Nobody wants to play a bit-part, but I'd realised that at this stage of my career and where I was physically, it was the right way to use me. But, it wasn't the odd game, I was only actually feeling good when I was coming on for the last 15 or 20 minutes at the end of matches, which wasn't right.''