Helen Watson, the New Zealand allrounder, has announced her retirement from cricket, ending her nine-year international career. Watson, 36, played 61 one-dayers, including winning the World Cup on home soil in 2000 and a rare Rose Bowl victory in 1999 in her debut series.In ODIs, she took 50 wickets at an average of 23.14 and an economy rate of 3.17, and made 568 runs. She also played eight international Twenty20s. At regional level, Watson represented Canterbury and Auckland, winning seven national titles.”I have gained immense satisfaction and enjoyment playing cricket at all levels,” said Watson, “with the pinnacle being my years playing for the White Ferns. The time is now right for me to hang up my boots and although I will no longer play the game there is no doubt that I will remain a keen supporter of cricket in the future.”I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported and encouraged me throughout my cricket career. It has been a fantastic journey.”Catherine Campbell, the women’s cricket manager of New Zealand Cricket, added: “Helen has made a terrific contribution to the White Ferns throughout her career. Her experience and talents will be missed and we wish her all the best in the future.”
Glamorgan 56 for 2 v Gloucestershire Scorecard Only 24.3 overs were possible at Bristol where there was a delayed start and then a complete washout soon after lunch. Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby both took 1 for 13 in niggardly opening spells when the ball moved around off the seam. Lewis accounted for Gareth Rees, who was caught behind for 2, while Kirby removed Matthew Wood, well held low down at third slip by Grant Hodnett for 4. Glamorgan were then 15 for 2 but David Hemp and Mike Powell guided them through to the interval, and the rain returned for good three overs after the resumption.Warwickshire 128 for 4 (Bell 42) v Leicestershire Scorecard There was a little more play at Edgbaston where Warwickshire made 128 for 4 in 50 overs against Leicestershire. Conditions were far from friendly for the batsmen, and they found the going hard under leaden skies and between three interruptions for showers. Dillon du Preez, signed as a Kolpak yesterday, got his Leicestershire career off to a flier, removing Darren Maddy’s off stump with his second ball as the batsman shouldered arms, and then having Ian Bell dropped at third slip off his seventh. Bell and Ian Westwood added 70 for the second wicket before Bell was trapped leg before half forward, and then Westwood became du Preez’s second victim – he finished with tight figures of 13-5-21-2 – care of a good catch at third slip soon after he had been struck on the jaw by a lifter. Michael Powell quickly followed, caught behind off James Allenby’s third ball, and Warwickshire were wobbling on 102 for 4. But Jonathan Trott and Tim Ambrose held firm until bad light ended play. Geoff Miller, England’s head selector, watched the day but with no fewer than ten South Africans on show, he cannot have learned too much.
Sydney Sixers’ senior pro Brad Haddin has called for a reinstatement of some form of the Champions League T20, on the day it was announced that the Big Bash League prize money was being bolstered through compensation funds for the cancellation of the tournament three years before its television contract expired.The BBL, due to commence on Thursday with a Sydney derby between Thunder and the Sixers, has had its stakes raised by the addition of an extra $600,000, up from $290,000 last summer, though the vast majority of this will go to the clubs rather than their players.In the latest episode of an ongoing haggle over money between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association, the board wanted any player prize increases to come out of the player payment pool already set aside for male contracted players, rather than the CLT20 compensation, a figure believed to be between $80 and $100 million.
Haddin bats for Lyon’s World T20 place
Nathan Lyon is the best spin bowler in Australia across all formats and should be allowed to demonstrate it at next year’s World Twenty20. That’s the view of Brad Haddin, who said Lyon did not have anything to prove to selectors in the game’s shorter formats despite his continued absence from the ODI and T20 squads. “He’s the premiere spinner in Australia isn’t he?” Haddin said. “He’s been bowling outstanding for the last 18 months whether it be a white ball or a red ball, he just hasn’t had much opportunity to play with the white ball. But his form over all forms of cricket is outstanding. “I don’t think Nathan has to do anything different to be honest, his bowling’s been exceptional for a long period now and every time he gets an opportunity with the white ball it’s no different. Just the way the schedules are hasn’t had much opportunity to play with the white ball, he was outstanding during the Matador Cup and he was great for the Sixers last year. I’m a bit biased, I think he’s the premiere spinner in Australia.”
While Haddin said he felt players were “pretty content” with present prize money levels, he urged CA to work at refashioning a global club T20 competition that provided added incentives for teams to perform in the BBL. “It’s disappointing that it’s not there,” Haddin said. “It’s a great tournament, and with the Sixers we are lucky that we have got a couple of really key Australian players who enjoy coming back for the tournament as well.”It’s a massive carrot; you can’t hide behind that fact, for state associations and Australian cricket as well. From a players’ point of view, and NSW Cricket and the Sixers, we’d like to see something go ahead. You can’t get past the fact it is an attractive tournament to play in. I hope they find something to replace it, because it’s a great carrot for not only international players but domestic players to get to play in a different country but also to play all around the world.”The CLT20 was founded as tournament jointly run by the boards of India, Australia and South Africa in 2008, and won a 10-year television deal worth $900 million with Star Sports off the back of the success of the inaugural IPL earlier that year. However it did not draw in the TV ratings or advertising revenue the broadcasters had hoped for, leading to a deal to conclude it ahead of the contract’s 2018 expiry.The proliferation of T20 leagues is a major undercurrent to the problems faced by the West Indies, something Haddin acknowledged by noting that most of the region’s best players would be turning out in the BBL this summer rather than the concurrent Test series. Haddin did not seem overly fussed by the decline of the West Indies Test team.”That’s their choice,” he said of the likes of Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo. “If you want to see the best of the West Indies come to the Big Bash. We’ve got Andre Russell, I think he was player of the tournament in the IPL this year, so there are some talented West Indians out there, they just happen to be playing Big Bash and not Test cricket.”If the [Test matches] only go for two and a half days, there’s obviously days where there’ll be Big Bash scheduled, I think the concept of this tournament’s just been getting bigger and bigger every year. If the West Indies have been playing the way they have last Test – I think they’ll come out and show some fight in the next two – but it’s an opportunity for people to come and see some young cricketers and also some of the greats in the Big Bash.”Since his Test retirement, Haddin has tried his hand at several pursuits, and admitted he could now see himself carving out a career of several years as a T20 freelancer. “I’m pretty lucky I finished my Test career with no niggles and my body’s in good shape,” he said.”It’s a great opportunity to go and play Twenty20, you only have to prepare for one form of the game, and if someone’s bowling really fast I can stand outside leg and have a swing and say I was trying to move the game forward and not be scared!”This is the start of my campaign now to move forward and hopefully play all around the world. I’m just excited about the Big Bash, it’s going from strength to strength and getting bigger every year.”
On a day when the Nagpur surface for the third Test between India and South Africa was rated ‘poor’ by the ICC, and less than a week after Rahul Dravid delivered a stinging critique of pitches used in the Ranji Trophy, the first day of Tamil Nadu-Punjab game saw 21 wickets fall. Seventeen of them went to spinners, but TN coach M Sanjay blamed his side’s batting, and not the Dindigul pitch.Punjab were dismissed for 206 in 57 overs and Tamil Nadu were shot out for 68 in the 24th, their second-lowest total in Ranji Trophy history. While Sanjay admitted to the TNCA rolling out a turning track to strengthen Tamil Nadu’s chances of a knockout berth in a must-win game, he denied it was an underprepared pitch. “Basically we played too many shots too early thinking that the wicket is going to do [something],” Sanjay told ESPNcricinfo.”There is turn and bounce, it is a spinner-friendly wicket, but they have got 200 [206], so it’s not like it’s a bad wicket. I think it’s more in the mind than in the wicket.”The odd ball kept low, but it was prepared to be a turning track just like India are preparing wickets for home games. We had to because we need to have to six points.”So did the ploy backfire after Punjab took the chance to bat first? “The toss doesn’t matter at all on a wicket like this actually,” Sanjay insisted. “In fact, it might be better bowling first on a wicket like this because the bounce is there. We didn’t bowl too well also and we didn’t field well, missing three-four chances.”Sanjay said the concept of an ‘ideal’ surface – one that assists the seamers initially before flattening out and eventually crumbling on the last day to bring the spinners into play – however noble was largely impractical. “We have seen pitches all over India in the last few years; it doesn’t happen like that in reality.””I don’t think the curators really know to do that. Earlier they might have done it when the pitches were uncovered. But then they have standardised the preparation of pitches after experts were brought in from abroad and lot of scientific things went into it,” Sanjay said. “Anyway India is preparing turners. You have to know how to counter that with certain skills that are different from playing seam bowling but they are skills anyway.”Dravid had recently come down heavily on poor pitches in this season’s Ranji Trophy after several two- and three-day finishes. Sanjay felt it wasn’t fair to generalise like that, and stressed on the need for tighter technique to succeed on such tracks, something Ravi Shastri had advocated recently as well.”People are not understanding the differentiation. Because it’s getting over in two or three days they are clubbing underprepared wickets with prepared ones [where matches finish because of other factors],” he said. “The Nottingham pitch [in the Ashes], which got over in three days, wasn’t underprepared, for instance.”[For an] underprepared wicket, you don’t water it, roll it, you just leave it like that, and it takes its course. The ball rolls, one kicks up, that becomes dangerous. These wickets are not dangerous; the bounce is consistent but for the odd ball.”This generation, not just cricketers, doesn’t have patience and perseverance. In today’s game as well there were four or five soft dismissals. Other than R Sathish – he got a ball which literally rolled – and R Prasanna, who Harbhajan got out with a beauty, there were many soft dismissals: Dinesh Karthik out lbw deliberately padding; Abhinav [Mukund] top-edging a pull off a rank short ball; [B] Aparajith trying to sweep top-edged one; and Vijay Shankar being caught brilliantly on the line.”Dravid had spoken of the importance of looking beyond wins and develop cricketers for the international stage. While Sanjay agreed with this philosophy, he said the ground realities of the competition’s structure couldn’t be glossed over. “An outright [win] gets you double the points [as a first-innings lead]. The administration or the coach, team captain, especially when it comes to the last league game, are desperate for a win. You wouldn’t have seen so many such matches in the beginning.”It’s true that if you keep getting wickets like this, you won’t get runs and you will lose confidence. That’s true. But out of eight games, you will play two or three games maximum. Otherwise five games are on phenomenal pitches,” Sanjay said.
Zimbabwe have recruited Makhaya Ntini and Marvan Atapattu to be assistant coach and batting consultant respectively, according to a report published today on the Zimbabwe Cricket website. The report says Ntini has been given a two-year contract, while Atapattu has been roped in for the duration of Zimbabwe’s tour to Bangladesh starting from January 15.Ntini, 38, has played 101 Tests, 173 ODIs and 10 T20Is for South Africa over a period of 13 years. ZC says he will begin work from February 16, while former bowling coach Douglas Hondo has been reassigned to the Zimbabwe A team.Atapattu, a former Sri Lanka captain and coach, may succeed Andy Waller as Zimbabwe’s batting coach. Currently, he is only a consultant but his “contract will be reviewed after the Zimbabwe tour of Bangladesh, with a view to entering into a longer relationship,” the Zimbabwe Cricket report said.
Uncertainty over the future of the Sheffield Shield final has been underlined by the announcement that only three of six states will have access to their prime venue for the competition decider in late March.Top-of-the-table Victoria have nominated Traeger Park in Alice Springs as their choice for the final rather than the unavailable MCG, while second-placed South Australia have plumped for Gilderol Stadium at Glenelg in place of Adelaide Oval.New South Wales are yet to confirm their choice of ground but are understood to have suggested Coffs Harbour, with Cricket Australia to review its appropriateness as a ground during the Blues’ forthcoming Shield fixture on the north coast.”Three of our six states are in positions where their regular season venues are unavailable, meaning they needed to nominate an alternative ground for Cricket Australia approval,” CA operations manager Sean Cary said.”A venue for New South Wales will be confirmed closer to the Final should they look likely to finish in top position. This Sheffield Shield season has been one of the most notable in its 123-year history, including hosting two games under day-night conditions as well as playing the first ever match overseas in Lincoln, New Zealand last week,” Cary added.Last October, the outgoing CA chairman Wally Edwards and the chief executive James Sutherland both expressed doubts about the future of the final, which is being squeezed by various fixture pressures such as the Big Bash League. Football’s insistence on taking possession of the MCG, Adelaide Oval and the SCG before the end of the Shield season is also affecting the issue – Victoria hosted Western Australia in Hobart last year.”The Shield final, over many years, has proved itself to be a bit of a non-event, to be honest,” Edwards said following CA’s AGM. “There probably have only been three or four good Shield finals.”The rest of them have been shockers, a bad advertisement for the game. I think it confuses the back end of our season. I think the best team should win in Shield cricket. If you play eight or ten games, that should sort it out.”Sutherland echoed Edwards’ views, noting how the expansion of the BBL was leaving fewer and fewer spare days in each season. “I think Wally is right. If you do look through history, the Shield finals have been absolutely dominated by the home team or a long draw,” Sutherland said.”I don’t think we should change it unless there was good reason to change that. But, at the same time, we are in a good position at the moment of having a burgeoning Twenty20 domestic competition that is in big demand.”At some stage in the future, we will be looking at ways in which we can expand that, whether that is expansion through number of matches or number of teams, of what have you. That might put pressure on other parts of our program.”
Everton football club have competed in the top division of English football for a record 107 seasons. The Merseyside club have played more top-flight league matches than any other in English history and have also won nine league titles (the fourth highest for any team so far). Since 1954 Everton have managed to sustain their place in the top division and in 1992 were found members of the Premier League.
Following their success of lifting four league titles and two FA Cup’s, the club experienced a period of underachievement post world war II. Everton soon began their revival in the 60’s by capturing an FA Cup and two league titles.
The mid 80’s became one of the club’s most successful periods. The club managed to secure two League Championships, an FA Cup, and the 1985 Cup Winners Cup (their first ever European trophy). As well as that, the Blues goalkeeper, Neville Southall picked up the Footballer of the Year award.
The clubs most recent silverware came in 1995 where they beat Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley stadium.
Goodison Park, holds a capacity of 40,157 and has been the home ground of Everton football club since 1892. Goodison was the first ever stadium in the entire world to install undersoil heating in 1958 and was the only ground in England outside of Wembley to host a World Cup match between West Germany and Soviet Union in 1966.
Many palyers have donned the famous royal blue and white shirt, players in this category include Dixie Dean, Bobby Collins, Roy Vernon, Tony Kay, Alan Ball, Bob Latchford, Gary Lineker, Tony Cottee and of course Duncan Ferguson.
Any images that you feel need to be added into the collection? Let us know in the comments!
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Nicolas Anelka was booted out of the French World Cup squad in disgrace at the weekend after a foul mouthed rant directed towards his coach Raymond Domenech during the 2-0 loss against Mexico, but did the moody Chelsea forward have a right to be frustrated at the team’s current situation?
Whilst it is inexcusable to speak to your coach in such a way (especially when you refuse to apologise), but with so many players disconcerted in the same squad it is not Anelka who is the problem.
Although I have taken great delight in Les Blues’ failures after the manner in which they gained their qualification in the qualifier against the Republic of Ireland, but even Domenech’s selections and pointless like-for-like substitutions frustrate me.
The Chelsea man is not the first player that Domenech has fallen out with as his club and national team-mate Florent Malouda has also had a bust-up with the coach. Also, France captain Patrice Evra has openly criticised the regime and has claimed there is a traitor (my money is on Yoann Gourcuff) in the camp. The actions of the Manchester United left-back has obviously upset Domenech as he omitted him from the starting line-up against South Africa.
I don’t think that Chelsea’s number 39 can be blamed for allowing his emotions boil over as what was probably his last chance (at 31) to play in the World Cup has passed him by, without scoring a single goal.
The situation has descended into chaos as the squad refused to train on Sunday and Domenech almost looked like a hostage as he read out the players’ statement following the events.
The statement read:
“The French Football Federation did not at any time try to protect the group. They took a decision uniquely based on facts reported by the press. As a consequence and to show our opposition to the decision taken by officials of the federation, all the players decided not to take part in today’s training session.”
Even the team director Jean-Louis Valentin couldn’t take it anymore and resigned from his post.
So between The French Football Federation (FFF), the coach, staff and the players there are deep rooted problems. Anelka has been made a scapegoat, perhaps similarly to how John Terry has been left out to dry after he openly spoke about a discussion he had with senior players about Fabio Capello’s approach and tactics.
However, Anelka does have a history of stropping which earned him the nickname Le Sulk and falling out with people hopping from club to club (nine in total during his career). But his club manager Ancelotti has got the best out of him as he has transformed into a team player and describes him at a great professional.
England and Italy also have problems with in their camp, but our problems are nothing compared to our Gallic counterparts.
Hopefully with Domenech leaving his post at the end of the season the truth will come out and many will wait with intrigue to hear what the likes of Anelka, Evra and the coach would have to say.
What do the fans think? Can Anelka be blamed for blowing a fuse?
Follow me on Twitter: ajwilliams1987
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Click image below to see a gallery of the Italian babes at the World Cup:
New France coach Laurent Blanc has sensationally suspended all 23 players that were on duty at this summer's World Cup finals in South Africa.
The 1998 world champions were placed into disarray when the squad staged a walk-out after striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home after an incident at the interval during the 2-0 loss to Mexico.
France failed to qualify from Group A under former boss Raymond Domenech and the players' behaviour appalled many back in their homeland.
Blanc will take charge of his first game against Norway in Oslo on August 11 and the former Bordeaux manager recommended that the full squad should not feature, a plea that was accepted by the French Football Association.
A statement on www.fff.fr read:"Laurent Blanc met this Friday, July 23, with the federal council, to whom he presented his staff and his sporting project.
"He also proposed to the federal council, who accepted, not to retain for the friendly against Norway, on Wednesday August 11 in Oslo, any of the 23 players officially selected by the French Football Federation for the World Cup in South Africa.
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"Laurent Blanc will release the list of players retained for this match against Norway on Thursday August 5 at 11.30."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
With last season’s title race going right down to the wire with Chelsea edging it over Manchester United by a single point every game counted towards the title. This summer has seen a distinct lack of major transfer activity from either club with Chelsea having something if a mini-exodus and bringing in only Yossi Banayoun, while United have made two additions, in Chris Smalling and a certain diminutive Mexican who’s already grabbed a few headlines with the most bizarre Wembley goal since Emile Heskey’s last one. The question is are the new signings enough to bring the trophy back to Old Trafford, just what do United need to do to wrestle the title back from West London and is Dimitar Berbatov ever going to revert back to his headband? Here’s a list of ten things which need to happen for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men to overtake Liverpool in the title winning stakes.
1. More goals from midfield. While many a United fan is quick to point out the deficiencies of Berbatov and even Ferguson has lamented the injury to Michael Owen that robbed United of his services for the business end of the season, the fact remains the midfield did not score nearly enough goals last season. Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Antonio Valencia, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nani managed 24 league goals between them, the same amount that Frank Lampard scored. While certain players –Fletcher for example- are not in the side to score goals, while Giggs and Scholes can hardly be expected to hit double figures at their age- it is still obvious United need more goals coming from the midfield department. If Rooney continues to operate as a lone striker –as he did for much of last season- then someone behind him needs to step up. Personally I’d like to see Nani and Valencia weighing in with a few more this time round.
2. A bit more stability in the starting XI. I fully understand that with United chasing honours on four fronts, the need for a large squad and a bit of rotation but surely it’s time for a little moderation. It seems every week there’s a new right back, its 4-5-1 then it’s 4-4-2, Berbatov starts, grabs a goal, then is dropped for the next game, Anderson’s in, then he’s out again, ditto Ji Sung Park. Admittedly injuries and the ages of certain players have to dictate Fergie’s thinking and the days of the man on the street naming the Saturday’s starting XI are long gone. However it could be time to give some players more than just one game in every three, and try and get a bit more cohesion going between certain ones. I’ve said it before and it may sound crazy but unless Rio Ferdinand can get back to proper full fitness, I’d make Jonny Evans and Nemanja Vidic my starting centre backs for every game. Stability has often been the key to United’s success and maybe a bit more is needed.
3. Give youth a chance. With Tom Cleverly not going out on loan, and the Da Silva twins and Macheda getting a chance both at the end of last season and in this pre-season then could we now see a few youngsters starting more than just the Carling Cup games? Hopefully yes. If United are not going to buy Mesut Ozil- to be honest I don’t think they will- then why not give either Darron Gibson or Cleverly the chance to have a run in the side. After all despite what a certain Scottish pundit may have claimed you can win things with kids. United have bags of experience in every department so throwing one or two youngsters into the mix shouldn’t lead to disaster and what better way for a developing player to learn than to play alongside the likes of Scholes, Giggs or Rooney.
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4. Darren Fletcher to raise his game. At first this may seem blasphemous, after all ‘super Daz’ was one of United’s best performers last season, putting in the sort of barnstorming displays you’d associate with Roy Keane. However the reason I think he should raise his game is simple- because he can. While there’s no denying against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, Fletcher bosses the midfield so much he even had Arsene Wenger complaining of his ‘anti-football’- so basically tackling people then- but against lesser opposition Fletcher can occasionally be a little less influential. I know it seems harsh to criticise such a dedicated player but let’s be brutally honest, there are times when his passing can go awry a little too often, and despite what I said earlier about him not being in the side to score goals that doesn’t mean he can’t. His brace against City and his superb volley – or should that be superlative strike- in the home game against Everton show that Fletcher knows where the goal is. I know he’s quality I just feel that if he were to perform against the likes of Sunderland as he does against the top teams, he could well be the difference between second and first.
5. Michael Carrick. This one doesn’t need a Fletcher-type apology or explanation, it’s shockingly simple. He’s got to start performing consistently. Carrick’s been at Old Trafford for four seasons now yet amazingly the jury still seems to be out on him. Three title winning campaigns would be enough to put most players in the pantheon of club legends but Carrick has a knack for going missing when he’s needed most and sometimes making costly errors. The games against Wolves away and Liverpool and Bayern Munich at home were cases in point. While Carrick’s mistakes in the first two may have been academic his failure to deal with the danger in the Champion’s League, then getting caught dilly-dallying on the ball, cost United two goals, and to some critics the tie. While I think there was more to it than just Carrick, the fact that he was dropped from the United side after his similar blunder gifted Liverpool an early Old Trafford lead, may mean that Fergie is running out of patience with a player who should now be hitting his peak not going backwards. If he doesn’t perform well at the beginning of the campaign, I feel it’s time to give someone else a chance.
6. Beat their title rivals. Ok this may sound like the sort of obvious statement you would associate with David Pleat but it’s true. The past two seasons have seen United lose home and away to their nearest rivals. In 2008-09 they got away with it mainly due the fact that by the time Liverpool came to Old Trafford and won 4-1, the title race was all but over. Last season however, even a draw in either game against Chelsea would have been enough to see United win the title for a record breaking nineteenth time but it wasn’t to be. United have usually performed well against their title rivals and there’s no doubt that a man has proud as Ferguson will be looking to regain that tradition this season. Winning against your rivals doesn’t just give you a points advantage it can often help psychologically convince you that you’re the better team and it’s time United took the edge on both counts.
7. Believe the hype and give Chicharito a proper run. I’ve tried not to get over excited about Javier Hernandez, but it’s been about as difficult as liking Ashley Cole as the ‘Little Pea’ shone in both the World Cup and United’s pre-season. Whether he’s banging in screamers against Argentina or using his teeth in the Community Shield, it’s obvious that he’s class and rather than wrapping him up in cotton wool or saving him for special occasions like the nice china, Fergie should unleash him and let him stake a claim for a regular starting place. He’s been compared to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, which is a bit unfair, but if he is going to be another ‘baby-faced assassin’ then he should at the very least be an obligatory substitute coming on after 60 minutes in every game.
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8. Improve the atmosphere at Old Trafford. Whether United have money or not chanting and singing is still free- mind you give it time and they’ll probably charge us- so there’s no excuses for having a lack of noise at Old Trafford. United still have the highest attendance in the League, yet at times away fans of a mere few thousand are out-singing 70-odd thousand Reds. ‘We want Glazers out’ is one chant that seems to be heard without any problems but it’s hardly likely to motivate the team. While I’m not saying that shouldn’t be sung, I’m merely stating that the fact remains personally I’ve been a bit embarrassed by the lack of atmosphere at OT at times and think a bit more noise wouldn’t go amiss. United may have only dropped eight home points last season, but if they can get the sort of atmosphere you hear against City going every week, then there’s every reason to feel they won’t drop any. This isn’t something the club should be culpable for, it’s up to the fans and don’t worry I’ve brought plenty of vuvuzelas back from South Africa so message me and I’ll send you one.
9. Take the burden off Wayne Rooney. Sounds simple doesn’t it? It’s a bit like saying score more goals than the opposition or win more games than your nearest rivals, but the fact is, United cannot win the title with Rooney alone. When Cristiano Ronaldo was scoring goals like they were going out of fashion, a large part of that was down to Rooney. Last season Didier Drogba had Lampard to help him out, Arsenal will no doubt have Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas this time round. Rooney needs someone to weigh in with not just their fair share of goals but also assists and being another option that players look for when United are attacking. Berbatov, Hernandez or one of the midfield, it doesn’t matter but when Rooney’s fit and playing it shouldn’t mean that if he has a quiet game so do United. When Rooney’s out, it’s time for someone else to perform; no doubt all eyes will be on Berbatov who came up short against Chelsea and Blackburn last season. Whether or not this will be the Bulgarian’s season remains to be seen, but someone needs to give ‘r Wazza a hand.
10. Play Edwin Van Der Sar in every league game. VDS performance in the Community Shield was yet another in a long list of exemplary shifts between the sticks at Old Trafford. The Dutchman was injured for the beginning of last season and Ben Foster was preferred to Tomas Kuszczak and all but ended both his United and England career with a series of inept displays. A loss away to Burnley and a disappointing home draw to Sunderland came on Foster’s watch, while Kuszczak oversaw the home loss to Aston Villa and the away loss to Fulham- although to be fair the entire defence was injured for that one. Van Der Sar may be 40 but if he can manage the league games and Fergie rests him for the cup ones, he may just be the difference between another near-miss or making United the most successful ever team-at least domestically- in England.