Chicharito scores Solsjkaer-esque first CL goal

A wonderful strike from Mexican striker Javier Hernandez gave Manchester United all three points in their Champions League group match against Valencia. Hernendez came on as a substitute in the 77th minute and showed his instinctive, clinical finishing to grab the winner for United. Immediately after coming on, Hernandez made an instant impact by hitting the upright after a cross at Nani had floated over the Valencia defence.

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The Red Devils face difficult task in Mestalla

Manchester United face a difficult tie away to Valencia in the intimidating Mestalla stadium without the experience of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs & Gary Neville or the (potential) explosiveness of Wayne Rooney. In truth, Wazza’s enforced absence through injury might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. He has looked well below his form from last season and hasn’t looked sharp at all.

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More Reds go out on loan

Oliver Gill and Reece Brown have joined League Two outfit Bradford on a one-month loan, while goalkeeper Conor Devlin has joined league One side Hartlepool bringing the total number of United players out on loan to 14. All three loans expire on October 25th, which also applied to Nicky Ajose’s loan.

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United have a total of 11 players out on loan

Blackpool 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Brett Emerton struck an injury time goal to hand Blackburn victory after Blackpool thought they had done enough to secure a point when Matt Phillips equalized a Charlie Adam own goal.
Mame Biram Diouf started his fourth league match for Blackburn, but made way for eventual match-winner Emerton at half time.

Birmingham City 0-0 Wigan Athletic
Birmingham continued their impressive home record of not having lost at St. Andrews in a year by playing out a 0-0 draw. Tom Cleverley was not in contention for this match, as he is still nursing an injury.

Liverpool 2-2 Sunderland
Poor decisions from Sunderland defender Michael Turner and from much-maligned referee Stuart Atwell gifted Liverpool the early lead, but Sunderland fought back through a Darren Bent brace before Steven Gerrard secured a point for his side. Final score 2-2.
Gerrard will be seen as Liverpool’s saviour, but he showed once again that he is a thug, who can get awa with murder when he elbowed on-loan Man United player Danny Welbeck in the face and only received a yellow card. Welbeck started his third league match and played 80 minutes before being substituted for record signing Asamoah Gyan.

Sunderland 1-2 West Ham
Welbeck also turned out for Sunderland in midweek in a Carling Cup tie with West Ham, who ran out 1-2 winners.
Welbeck played the full 90 minutes.

Coventry City 1-2 Preston North End
Both Joshua King and Matty James are still recovering from ankle injuries and were not available for selection on the weekend or in midweek for Preston’s Carling Cup clash with Wigan.

Bournemouth 2-0 Carlisle United
James Chester received his 8th league start and played the full 90 minutes for Carlisle as they sliped to a 2-0 loss away at The Fitness First Stadium.
Oliver Norwood received his second start for The Cumbrians, but made way for Ben Marshall on 54 minutes.

Leeds United 1-0 Sheffield United
Ritchie De Laet went straight into Sheffield United’s squad agianst Leeds and come on as a 48th minute substitue for Jean Calve, but was unable to help his side secure a point against the sheep-shaggers.

Yeovil Town 1-3 Exeter City
Cameron Stewart had returned to Manchester to play for the Reserves in midweek, so was not considered for selection on the weekend.

Cardiff City 2-1 Millwall
Danny Drinkwater was not named in Cardiff’s squad as the Bluebirds swooped to pick up a win against the Lions.

Cheltenham 0-2 Bury
Nicky Ajose went straight into Bury’s squad against Cheltenham and received his first appearence, as he came on as an 80th minute substitute for Ryan Lowe. The Shakers ran out 0-2 victors.

Updated Stats:

Upcoming fixtures
Tuesday September 28th
Leeds United vs Preston North End (King & James)
Hartlepool United vs Carlisle United (Chester & Norwood)
Yeovil Town vs Southampton (Stewart)
Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield Utd (De Laet)
Cardiff City vs Crystal Palace (Drinkwater)
Morecombe vs Bury (Ajose)

Saturday October 2nd
Stoke City vs Blackburn Rovers (Diouf)
Wigan Athletic vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (Cleverley)
Sunderland vs Manchester United (Welbeck will not be eligible)
Preston North End vs Reading (King & James)
Carlisle United vs Peterbrough United (Chester & Norwood)
Sheffield Utd vs Watford (De Laet)
Walsall vs Yeovil Town (Stewart)
Barnsley vs Cardiff City (Drinkwater)
Bury vs Rotherham (Ajose)

In other news Bury have signed Manchester United youngster Nicky Ajose on loan

League Two promotion chasers Bury have signed Manchester United youngster Nicky Ajose on a one-month loan deal.

United Under-18s coach Paul McGuinness, son of former Red Devils boss Wilf, told Bury’s website: “Nicky has been with us in the Academy for a long time.

“He is a very exciting player and has the ability to beat defenders with his pace or skill.”

The Bury-born forward, 18, signed his first professional deal with United in the summer of 2009.

Ajose made his Shakers debut in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Cheltenham, coming on for the final 10 minutes when he replaced six-goal top scorer Ryan Lowe.

That victory put Bury, who made the League Two play-offs under boss Alan Knill two seasons ago and just missed out on the final day last term, up to sixth in the table.

Brilliant Berba talks to MUTV

Dimitar Berbatov has been the most divisive player at Manchester United ever since he swapped White Heart Lane for Old Traffod. An outrageously gifted player, his languid style, as well as apparent refusal to graft and hustle has divided Manchester United supporters like no other player past or present. His failure to score against both Chelsea and Blackburn after being presented with gilt-edged chances. prompted fans to boo him and the sensitive Bulgarian’s confidence and happiness obviously took a hit.

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De Laet joins Sheffield on a 30 day loan

As reported yesterday, Sheffield United have moved to restore their defensive resources by bringing in Manchester United’s Ritchie De Laet on a 30 day loan.

The 22 year old Belgian International arrived at Old Trafford via Antwerp and Stoke City in January 2009 and made his senior bow five months later.

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Bolton have provided some of the best and worst memories recently

Whenever I look at the fixture calendar and see that a match against Bolton is looming, I can’t help but let my mind drift back to a very special day, late in the month of October 2006. Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo had grabbed the headlines in the World Cup 2006 for all the wrong reasons, United had lost to Arsenal on my birthday in September and I was watching the Bolton match with some mates of mine who happen to support Arsenal.

What started off as taunting and the staking of bragging rights soon become a forced, uncomfortable approval of the amazing counter-attacking football on display. Ronaldo and Rooney had truly announced themselves, as well as their ability to terrorize teams in tandem and had just issued a statement of intent, which they would go on to fulfill. Fantastic memories.

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Defender to get valuable first team experience away from OT

According to reports from SkySports.com, Manchester United’s Ritchie De Laet is on the verge of joining Sheffield United on three month loan.  It is thought that a number of Championship and SPL clubs had enquired about De Laet, but that Blades boss, Gary Speed, has won the race to sign the versatile defender.

The Belgium international has made six first-team appearances for United since arriving from Stoke in January 2009 and he is highly regarded within the corridors of Old Trafford.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is happy to let De Laet leave on loan so that he can get valuable first-team action under his belt with his chances limited in the the Red Devils’ starting XI.

Eikrem supplied the ammunition and Ajose found the target

The Manchester Senior Cup tie between Manchester United Reserves vs Bolton Reserves was definitely a match of two halves. The first half was dull and was more physical battle of aggression than a football contest, but the second was thoroughly entertaining. MagnusEikrem took the game by the scruff and ran the show, distributing the ball intelligently setting off team mates into good space down the flanks, as well as down the middle.

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Sir Alex seen in Mestalla with Eric Steele

Further to my earlier post highlighting what Sir Alex might have seen of goalkeeper David De Gea at last night’s game between Valencia and Atletico Madrid, comes a story published by Spanish newspaper AS that Sir Alex was there to scout the player.

The AS site also published a picture of Sir Alex, but unbeknownst to the paper was the fact that the picture shows he was accompanied by goalkeeping coach Eric Steele.

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